The Need To Know
by Pen Against Sword
Summary: When Yuffie meets Axel, neither of them know what keeps them coming back to each other. The situation will not get any less complicated when Axel dies. But things aren't quite what they seem, even in death, as Yuffie will soon discover. -Canon-compliant-
1. Chapter 1

_Attention: I have revised this chapter to make it less cringe-worthy, in light of its nomination for the Genesis Awards. It still has its flaws here and there, but I think it holds its own a lot better. I think I'll be doing this with the second chapter soon._

-.-

An accidental meeting started the whole fiasco.

Picture yourself outrunning Heartless like there's no tomorrow. Picture there being no tomorrow for you because there are just that many Heartless following you. Seems scary, huh? Now put yourself in those shoes, and you will find yourself in the self-same shoes of Yuffie Kisaragi, ninja extraordinaire and thieving expert.

Of course, the most logical course of action for Yuffie at this point – with no help in sight and even more Heartless appearing, scenting for blood – was to duck down the nearest alley and hope to any god in existence that this was the correct route to take. "Correct" being the route that would keep the heart in her chest. Most people outrunning a hoard of certain death will take a moment to look back, and when Yuffie did what most people do in a situation such as this, she ran straight into the back of a man standing in the alley. Her momentum sent her sprawling onto the stones.

"Watch where you're going," he spat, looking down his nose at her. No one looked down at Yuffie Kisaragi!

"Hey, you watch where _you're_ going, you big idiot! I'm not the one blocking alleys and making it hard for people to get away from impending death, you know!" She was on her feet by that time, pointing at him as she ranted.

"What did you call me?"

"That's right, I called you an idiot. Now move outta my way! I got places to be,

people to see, butts to kick." She jabbed him in the chest with her index finger. The rather unimpressive height at which she stood did not up her intimidation points.

"No, _you_ move out of _my_ way," he growled, getting closer to her face. She noticed the impressive sea-green of his eyes then, and the way his hair seemed to be just as angry as him.

"NO! _YOU_ move out of _MY_ way!" She shoved him by the shoulders. He teetered, regained his balance, and pushed her back.

"Don't touch me!" he snapped.

"Don't touch _me!_"

"I don't have time for this." He attempted to step around her, and she stepped to the side to block.

"I have _plenty_ of time for you to apologize for being such a jerk." Her eyebrows lowered and her mouth turned down – the perfect picture of displeasure.

"No, you don't."

"What? I just said I—" Yuffie stopped talking when he raised his hands above his head, blinked, and twirled two pinwheel weapons that appeared. "What are you playing at, buddy?"

He nodded to the area behind her. "That."

She whirled, shurikens out and ready, three in her left hand, the standard in her right. "Oh, shit."

And then a tongue of flame shot over her shoulder and obliterated one of the huge lines of Heartless approaching them from the mouth of the alley. That snapped her out of it. With three neat little flicks of her wrist, she dispatched her tiny throwing stars, straight into the skull of a Large Body. It vaporized, like all Heartless did when destroyed.

Yuffie was too busy backing up as the wave of Heartless pushed forward to remember her argument from three seconds ago. She spun around, turned tail, and ran full-tilt after the retreating form of the stranger.

"HEY!" she shrieked at him, trying to make sure she didn't trip on any of the trash strewn about on the ground. Typical if she slipped on a banana peel.

"What the hell could you possibly want right now?"

"You just _left me back there!_"

They were out of the alley then, back in Hollow Bastion's square. The Heartless were a writhing black mass, pouring out of the mouth of the alley.

"Yeah, so?" He spun his odd-looking weapons in his hands. Flames crackled at the edges. Taking a battle-ready stance, he spread his feet and evened out his weight distribution.

"What do you mean 'so'?"

"I don't know you! I don't have any obligation to you!"

The Heartless surrounded them now. Book Wizards floated on their dusty tomes and lightning sizzled in their hands. Yuffie eyed one cooking up a nasty blizzard curse.

"You could've at least waited up for me to make sure I was okay! It's common courtesy, you know."

"What, and get killed?"

"No! I'm still alive, aren't I? Waiting on me wouldn't have gotten you killed!"  
"Precisely! You're still alive!"

She ducked out of the way of a nasty fireball. It sailed past her ear, and she smelled singed hair. Gritting her teeth, she walked in reverse until she was back to back with the red-haired man.

They stopped talking then, fighting and watching out for each other with the kind of camaraderie that can only be inspired by dire situations. She was amazed to witness him shooting off flames with his bare hands and burning baddies to a crisp. She was so distracted by the lithe, flowing way he moved that she almost got herself axed by a Book Wizard trying to take her head off.

"Pay attention, dammit!" he yelled, and cut his weapon down inches from her face where a Shadow Knight had been spinning toward her.

"Don't yell at me, asshole!" Yuffie pushed him out of the way of a blizzard spell that would have hit him straight in the chest.

"This is _not_ working," he said, close to her ear.

"Are you kidding? I could do this _all day!_"

"So can I!" he replied. "But I have better things to do."

"Like blocking alleyways."

"What was that?"

"How do you think we can get out of this?"

In reply, he grabbed her by the waist and leapt into the air, sending a hot pillar of flame from his palm into the mass of Heartless bodies. It rippled, a burning flare that lit up the area and gave their faces an odd glow. The Heartless shrieked, and a wicked smile spread across his face. Yuffie stared at him, trying to keep hold of his neck. She noticed he smelled like wood smoke and warm skin. The residual magic on him crackled along her hair and made her face tingle.

The opposing thrust of energy from his fire magic kept them airborne for several long moments, but then they landed safely on a rooftop some yards away. Yuffie was still clinging to him, trying to breathe. He didn't make any move to push her away, and she didn't look at him for a moment, attempting to get her bearings.

"What's wrong with you? Scared?" She could hear the grin in his voice.

She scowled at him. "Never in a million years."

He leaned in. "We'll have to see about that."

"I guess we will."

He smirked. "What's your name?"

"What's _yours?_"

"I asked you first."

"I asked you second."

He expelled a sigh through his nose, and she stood up, brushed the ash off her shorts. She could still hear the Heartless screaming and the smell of burning flesh was heavy in her nostrils. She wanted to push her face into his chest again.

"Well?"

"Yuffie Kisaragi." She gestured for him to supply her with his name.

"Axel."

"Axel?" She snorted in a very unladylike manner. "What kind of name is that?"

"What kind of name is Yuffie?"

"Mine is at least a name. Yours is just something that goes on a wheel." She stuck out her tongue at him.

He crossed his arms. The odd weapons were gone, back to from whence they had come. "You're gonna remember my name. Axel. That's A-X-E-L. Got it memorized?"

"Psh, like I'd remember your name. You're nothing special. Just some nobody with fire tricks and stupid hair."

At the word "nobody" he made an odd face, and at the jibe about his hair, he looked dismayed, putting his hand on top of his head. "You think my hair is stupid?" For a moment he sounded vulnerable. "Well, it's not. If my hair is stupid, your boots are stupid."

"My boots are _not_ stupid! At least," and here she sneered, "I'm not a man with womanly hips."

Axel's jaw worked as he tried to think of a retort. "At least I'm not a woman with a boy's body."

She gasped in outrage. "God!" she said, unable to think of anything adequate to parry him.

He wagged a finger at her. "I already told you my name is Axel. I know I'm great, but you don't have to call me God."

She burst out laughing. After a moment of that, she regained her breath enough to give him a proper reply. "That was _so_ lame."

He rolled his eyes at her. "I really don't have time for this."

"Oh, really? Then why have you been standing here talking to me this whole time if you've got somewhere to be?" She stabbed his chest with her finger again.

He growled, grabbed her hand, and twisted her arm behind her back. "Little girl," he breathed in her ear, "do you really want to toy with me?"

"I'm not afraid of you!" she proclaimed, hiding her grimace as he jerked her arm.

"You should be."

"Well, I'm not. You're just full of hot air."

"You might be right about that," he said, blowing into her ear.

She looked at him for a moment, contemplated beating the crap out of him for touching her, and then decided against it. "…see ya 'round?" It was more a question than a farewell.

He began to back up, still looking at her, studying her. Just as she was growing uncomfortable with his scrutiny, he spoke.

"I doubt it."

Before she could protest, something almost like a rip in the air opened behind him. The darkness. He gave her a cold smile and stepped into it. It vanished, taking him with it.

She didn't mention him to anyone else.

-.-

Yuffie thought about telling Aerith or Tifa about her strange encounter with the even stranger man, but decided against it. She felt that if she let it out, if she talked about him, he wouldn't be real. Like he'd cease to exist. She hadn't seen him even one time in the months that followed, and as the memory started to fade and take its place in the other memories in her mind, she almost chalked it up to her imagination, even though Yuffie knew she had never really been one to think these things up on her own.

Then one day she heard Sora, Goofy, and Donald talking to Merlin. Well, "heard" was a loose term, seeing as she was hiding under the bed and eavesdropping. She needed to know more and no one ever told her _anything._

"We don't really know who they are, but they control those things, those…Nobodies. We still have to fight them," Sora was saying to the old wizard.  
"They call themselves Organization XIII," Goofy added, laughing in that oafish way he had. Yuffie contained a smile of fondness for the gangly knight.

"We've only met a few of them, but they seem to keep popping up," Sora continued. "They're working toward a goal, or so Yen Sid tells us. We're not sure what, though. But one of them, his name is Axel – he took Kairi. We need to find her. I'm afraid something bad has happened to her."

Yuffie's heart sank. He took Kairi? Sweet, innocent little Kairi? What was he playing at? And he was part of this Organization? The one that kept causing trouble for Sora and his friends? Sora had told Yuffie, Leon, and the others about them in a sort of warning. But Yuffie didn't know Axel was part of the Organization. He hadn't acted as though he was out to harm her. He hadn't acted as though he meant her harm. She hadn't sensed that he was up to anything evil.

_Stupid, Yuffie, stupid. Don't be an idiot. Just because he didn't _seem_ like he was a bad guy doesn't mean he wasn't a bad guy_.

"Well," Merlin was saying, scratching his beard, "I can't say I can help you there. I have no idea where he would have taken her, but I can say to be on your guard. I don't know what this Organization's ultimate goal is, but it doesn't sound good."

"One of them told me that Axel would 'stop at nothing' to turn me into a Heartless. What would be the point of that?"

Merlin shrugged. "I honestly don't know. Keep searching for your answers, Sora, and maybe you will find them."

Yuffie stayed under the bed for a while even after everyone was gone. She didn't feel like moving. Finally, after a long time of feeling heavy and disappointed, she rolled out from under the bed and went to see if she could beat up on Leon for a while. That would make her feel better, if nothing else.

-.-

She saw him the second time in the bailey.

She had had enough time to properly dwell and grow furious at Axel for kidnapping Kairi. She wanted to punch him straight in his stupid mouth, take him by the face and make him eat pavement.

So when Axel appeared, stepping out of a swirling vortex of darkness, calm as you please, she launched herself at him, tackled him, and punched him. She got about three punches in before he managed to grab her arms and roll them over until he was straddling her waist.

"What the hell is your problem?" he yelled in her face. A trickle of blood dripped from his nose onto her cheek, and even though that sickened her, she felt a little burst of triumph that she had made him bleed.

"What the hell is _your_ problem?" she yelled back.

"I asked you first!"

"I asked you second!"

He loomed over her, his hair a red corona, disheveled and bloody and panting with exertion. The only thing she could think of then was just how angry she was at him. How hurt she felt by him. She would look back later and wonder how he had affected her so when she barely knew him, and she would look back later and wonder at how beautiful he had been in that moment.

"Why did you kidnap Kairi?"

At her question, his face twisted and he looked away from her, but didn't make a move to release her from their suggestive position. She hoped no one would happen upon them because if Leon or Cloud showed up, she didn't know how she would explain herself.

"That's…none of your business."

"The _HELL_ it's not my business!" She squirmed, endeavoring to free herself from his hold.

"I have my own reasons, Yuffie," he said, his face very serious.

"That's not good enough," she said.

"It doesn't matter if it's not good enough," he said. "That's all there is."

"Why?" she asked. Her voice broke. Yuffie hoped he hadn't noticed.

He had. He stared at her, hard. "You'll understand in time. Why do you care so much?"

She opened her mouth to shout at him, but then stopped. "I…" she looked away. "I don't know. Just…get out of my head, okay?"

Axel looked surprised, of all things. "I could say the same thing to you."

He rolled off of her and stood in one fluid, graceful movement. Yuffie sat up and took the hand that he offered her. She wiped the blood off her cheek.

"Why are you here?" she blurted.

He shrugged, rubbing at his arm in a fidgety sort of way. "I'm not entirely sure."

She frowned at him. "If you're here to harass Sora or cause any sort of trouble, I can tell you he's not here."

His eyes locked on her. "What do you know about Sora?"

"I know that you will 'stop at nothing,'" she quoted, "to turn him into a Heartless."

He closed his eyes for a moment, as if in some sort of pain. "You don't know anything, Yuffie. Don't talk about what you don't understand."

"I would understand if you would tell me!"

He was on her in an instant, his face in her face. He fisted his hands in her too-small shirt and pushed her against the wall, scraping her shoulder-blades on the harsh rock. He got very close to her, and she could feel his breath on her skin. She noticed he still had blood under his nose.

"Don't," he breathed, "presume to know me."

She wrenched out of his grasp and moved to sock him in the mouth again. He caught her fist and she kneed him in the solar plexus. As he bent over and wheezed, she worked her shoulders. They stung.

"I won't presume to know you from now on, and you don't touch me like that again. OrI _will_ make you regret it."

His eyes watered. "I hurt you."

"Nah, you didn't—"

"Let me see."

"You can't tell me what—"

"Yuffie…turn around."

"No!"

He gritted his teeth. "…please?"

She gave him a cheeky grin and turned her back to him. She didn't know what he was doing until she could feel his hands on her exposed skin, prying at the scraped flesh. She hissed. "Cut it out!"

He took his hands away. "Okay, okay! Sheesh. Just… wash that when you get home. It has dirt in it."

She rolled her eyes. "Thanks." He held up his hand and shook his head at her.

"Don't."

She understood. But she needed to know now. "What _are_ you doing here?" His eyes darted anywhere but her, searching for a place to rest. He opened his mouth and she cut him off before he could begin. "And don't tell me you don't know. I know you better than that."

He scowled at her. "You don't know me at all, Yuffie Kisaragi."

"I think I know more about you than you think, Axel."

"Be glad that you're wrong."

"I'm not."

"You'll wish you were, once this is all over and done with."

"Once _what_ is all over and done with?" Hands on her hips again.

"You'll understand in time."

"Goddammit, quit being cryptic with me, Axel. And you still haven't answered my question."

"So?"

"Why. Are. You. Here?"

"To see you."

Silence. He looked away. She stared at him.

"I should go."

"No, wait," she said, grabbing his wrist and holding him there. He could easily have thrown her off if he wanted to, she knew, but she wanted him to stay. She needed to _know_. "Why?"

"Why? I…don't know why. Why do you always have to ask me why?"

"I don't _always_ ask you why, I've only met you once!"

"It doesn't feel that way."

"I know. Answer me why."

He sighed, exasperated. "Don't make me say this. Dammit, I couldn't…stop thinking about you."

"Me neither."

He raised an eyebrow at her, smirking. "What?"

"I couldn't stop thinking about me," she said.

He grabbed the arm connected to the hand that was still gripping him around the wrist and yanked her forward until she was body to body with him, and he was staring down at her with an inscrutable look on his face.

"What are you doing to me?" he asked her.

She frowned. "I'm not doing _anything_ to you, dummy. You keep coming here yourself."

She yawned. He made a face at her, then sat down on the ground, pulling her down next to him.

"Sleepy?"

"I haven't been sleeping all that well lately."

"Dreaming about me, I take it," he said, sounding smug.

"Pfft, duh, seeing your ugly mug in my dreams makes me wake up screaming."

"Oh, I see. Well then, I guess I'll just have to tire you out to make sure you sleep better."

"What are you—"

Axel started to tickle her, and dammit it if she wasn't extremely ticklish. The only person who knew that was Aerith, who used it to get Yuffie to obey her when the ninja was being particularly obtuse about something. But now, apparently, Axel had discovered it, and Yuffie was laughing and laughing and tears were running down her face, and something inside her came to life in those few precious minutes.

When he finally stopped torturing her, they both collapsed onto the ground. "I guess you're gonna use that against me next time you want something now."

He stiffened, and she wondered what she had done wrong.

"I should go," Axel said, pushing away from her and attempting to rise.

"To hell with that," she said, latching onto him around the shoulders and pulling him back down to the ground to land in a heap, half on top of her, arms akimbo. "What the hell did I just say?"

His eyes were shadowed. "There might not be a next time."

"What? Of course there'll be a next time. You can come and—"

"I might not make it to a next time. I might…I'm your enemy. There's no telling what will happen after this."

"I don't care if you're my enemy."

"You should."

"Well, I don't," she said, sticking her lower lip out. "And what do you mean, 'after this'? What is _this_ anyway?"

He sighed again. "I don't know, honestly."

"You'd better not just…let it go."

"I can't control what happens from here on out."

"You don't have to. Just don't…don't let this go."

He looked at her then, really looked at her. "I won't."

"Promise?"

"I don't make promises."

"_Promise?_"

He paused. "I promise."

"Good."

He rolled off of her and laughed, long and loud and deep from his belly. "Good."

For a few minutes, they just laid there.

Finally, Axel stood, offered Yuffie his hand, pulled her up and told her, "I have to go now."

She nodded. She understood. She made as if to touch him, then let her hand fall to her side. The portal materialized behind him and he stepped into it, vanishing.

-.-

"Yuffie, where did you get those nasty scrapes?" Aerith asked her, concerned. Yuffie jumped. She had been lost in her thoughts, replaying the encounter between her and Axel over and over, trying to figure out what it had all meant.

"Oh, it's nothing."

"They look painful," the lovely young woman insisted, trying to get a better look as Yuffie turned away.

"Nah, I'm the great ninja Yuffie, Aerith! Pain is nothing to me!" She struck a pose.

Aerith smiled. "All right. Next time come to me and I'll at least cast a cure or something on those while they're fresh. Now that they're scabbing there's nothing I can really do that your body's not already doing for you."

"Thanks, Aerith, I'll keep that in mind."

But the truth was, Yuffie wore the wounds like a trophy and every time they scraped against something rough, she hissed and thought of Axel and wondered if he remembered his promise.


	2. Chapter 2

_A/N: Okay, so if you've ever played FFVII, Yuffie uses an attack in this chapter from the game. It's her ultimate Limit Break, and it's call All Creation. I'm not really bringing FFVII into this story in a way that is important to the plot, I'm just referencing things as I see fit. Plus, if you've ever seen All Creation, it is badass to the max._

_Also, Aerith's healing abilities are from FFVII as well. Her final limit break was a healing rain, and I decided I wanted to give her similar qualities here._

_  
And I'm the author so therefore I am the coolest._

_So there._

-.-

After that, she waited every day for him in the bailey.

It wasn't exactly unusual that she was disappearing for hours on end every day, so at first, her friends didn't question her, like the good, not-nosy, non-interfering, slightly uncaring people that they were. But after a while, understandably, they started to wonder what the hell she was doing all the time she wasn't with them. They got suspicious. Or, at least, Leon and Cid did because they were bastards and Cloud would have if he wasn't a total space case. Aerith let her go about her business as usual and Tifa was kind of interested, but not really, seeing as she was always trying to talk to the Cloud zombie, which was pretty much a lost cause of the highest degree.

So every day she came out at a specific time (half an hour before he had come that second time) and every day she waited as long as her energetic attention span would allow before she had to go find something else to do. For a month she waited every day, her hope unwavering. It was unnaturally good to have something to hope towards—they had had so little of things like that ever since the Heartless came.

For a month she waited every day before anyone thought about questioning her.

"Hey, Yuffie," Leon said one day.

"Yeah, Squall?" she said, using his real, given name just to annoy the piss out of him.

"It's Leon."

"'Kay, Squall." He rolled his eyes at her and blew air through his nose exasperatedly.

"What do you do all the time when you're gone everyday?"

Yuffie froze. Shit. Shit, shit, shit. Gotta lie, gotta lie, gotta think of something _totally believable_…

"None of your business." Smooth.

"Yuffie…" he said in that tone that he had. That I-Am-Leon-Not-Squall-And-You're-Yuffie-So-'Fess-Up-Before-I-Give-You-The-Look-That-Goes-With-This-Tone tone.

"Squall…" she replied in her I-Don't-Care-That-You're-Giving-Me-That-Tone tone.

He gave her the Look-That-Goes-With-That-Tone look.

She just sniffed and pulled out her shurikens, fully intending to out-polish him with his shiny gunblade. Yuffie had a theory that Leon had his gunblade so perfectly kempt and shiny so that in battles with particularly difficult Heartless, he could just turn it a certain way and their eyes would sizzle and melt out of their heads. Well, assuming they had eyes. Failing that theory, she figured he didn't want to carry a highly breakable mirror around, so he just used his gunblade to check his reflection after fights to make sure his hair looked okay.

Yuffie also had a theory that she had too much time on her hands, which was just proved by her habit of waiting on Axel on a daily basis.

After the first sorta-kinda confrontation with Leon, she decided to try and avoid him. She would go out of her way to make sure he had left a room before she entered it, and she would make sure to always talk to someone besides him at dinner. Of course, it was only a matter of time before that kind of attempt was noticed, and finally, Tifa cornered her.

"All right, Yuffie. 'Fess up. Why are you avoiding Leon?"

"Who? Me? What? I don't know what you're talking about," Yuffie tried to say nonchalantly, inspecting her fingernails. It failed however, as she said it all too quickly, and it all came out as a garbled mess.

"Fine. I'll just have to force it out of you."

Yuffie stuck out her tongue and crossed her arms at her fist-fighter friend. "And how do you propose you're going to do that?"

Tifa tackled her to the ground and started tickling her.

"HAHAHA—NO, STOP, PLEASE—AHAHAHA! C'MON, TEEF! HAH—NOT—AHAHAHA—FAIR!"

"Do you give up?" Tifa growled, wiggling her fingers on Yuffie's ribs with renewed vigor.

"No," Yuffie gasped, breathless. "HAHA! OKAY, OKAY, I GIVE. UNCLE!"

Tifa stopped tickling her, but did not release Yuffie from her pinned position on the ground. Rather, she grabbed Yuffie's arms and held them at her sides. Her face was grim and her jaw was set.

"All right, Yuffie," Tifa said, glaring at her fiercely. "Tell."

Yuffie thought of a lie quickly. "I…he…well, you see…"

Tifa's eyes widened. "You…you have a thing for Leon!"

Yuffie was close to shouting 'EW' but stopped herself and nodded instead, averting her eyes and hoping that Tifa thought it was because she was embarrassed, not lying.

Tifa released her. "You know, it'd probably work better if you just told him. Avoiding him won't get you anywhere if you want to make something happen."

Yuffie shuffled her feet. "I'm just trying to make it happen on my own time."

"I understand," Tifa said. "Well, if you need someone to talk to, you know where to find me. 'Kay?"

"Thanks, Tifa. I gotta go though. I got some errands to run. See ya!"

"Okay!"

Yuffie skittered off to the bailey, where she was going to play I-Spy with herself and her shuriken to pass the time. But before she could get all the way there, out of the corner of her eye, she saw movement, and from a rip in the fabric of space and time came Axel.

He practically fell out of his dark portal, and the first thing Yuffie noticed was that there was blood pouring from a wound in his side. One gloved hand was pressed to it. The other arm hung limp and useless. His breath came in great, heaving gasps and he barely seemed able to see because there was blood from a head wound trickling into his eyes. A random thought in the back of Yuffie's mind acknowledged that all the red brought out the ruby highlights in his hair, but she ignored it.

In all actuality, it only took Yuffie about two seconds to process everything before she was at his side, pushing her shoulder into his armpit where his good arm was. He winced when she knocked his bad arm and jostled his torso, but she overlooked it, in favor of gritting her teeth and half-carrying him through the alleyway where he had appeared. She had the idea that she needed to find Aerith before someone found them and decided to forgo questions and start with violence.

"What the fuck did you do to yourself?" Yuffie panted as she lurched around a corner.

"_I_ didn't do anything to myself," he snarled back. "Fucking Saix found me. He is _not_ happy with me…Actually, he's never happy with anything, but he decided to use me as target practice."

"Saix?" Yuffie queried, curious.

Axel would not be deterred. He went on as if she had never even spoken. "Oughtta use _him_ as target practice. Bullseye! Chakram straight to the face. Right in the middle of that 'x'. I'll g—" Axel's sentence dropped off as he started to cough roughly; great, bone-wracking coughs that made Yuffie have to pause to keep her balance. When they subsided, he spat a wad of spit and blood onto the stone.

He took a breath and attempted to launch into another attack against Saix, but Yuffie cut him off.

"And _then_, I'll—"

"Axel."

"What?"

"Shut up."

He looked like he was going to protest, but Yuffie shot him a warning glance.

"Okay," he said, complying for once. But he did manage to glare in a way that seemed absurd through all the blood.

"Well, I'm not exactly sure how you thought _I_ could help you, pal, but one thing's for sure: I am no doctor and never have been. I _do_ know someone who is, however, and she may just be generous enough for little ol' me to fix your broken ass up.

"Yuffie, I—"

"Don't talk, Axek. If you talk, you'll just cough more, and you're already bleeding on me. I don't want your spit added to the mix, thanks very much."

Axel didn't respond, and Yuffie covered their too-slow progress with idle chatter enough for two people.

"Hmm, wish there was a way I could staunch this bleeding quickly. You _are_ kinda leaving a trail here. That could be sorta bad if something picked up on it and decided to follow us. Do Nobodies do that kind of crap or do they just wait for you guys to call them? Yep, I know Organization XIII controls the Nobodies. I've been reading all the information that Jiminy Cricket transfers to us through the Gummi Ship computers whenever he gets a free moment.

"This brings us back to you leaving pretty blood patterns in the dust behind us, dear Axel. It makes me nervous that Heartless may—"

She didn't have a chance to finish as a Shadow leaped at her from above. Even with Axel on her shoulder, she was lightning-quick. She whipped her hand down to her belt, snatched a tiny, four-bladed shuriken and sent it straight through the Shadow's bulbous head. It burst into translucent fog and then dissipated. Yuffie caught the shuriken and reattached it to her belt with a flick of her wrist.

After brief consideration of how bad it could get if they didn't hurry, Yuffie spoke. "Well, I didn't want to do this because it's not gonna be good for that mortal wound of yours, but, uh…upsy daisy!"

In one swift movement, Yuffie threw Axel up onto her shoulder, reminded of a sack of potatoes. Except potatoes would definitely not yelp like a little girl or seep hot blood on her shoulder or grumble like a grumpy old man when it finally settled.

"You _could_ have warned me," he grouched at her.

"Dear God, Bleedy McWounded, what the hell have you been eating?" He looked like he was all angles, but there was some lean muscle there. Yuffie tried not to feel up a mortally wounded guy.

"Are you calling me fat?" he spat.

"So what if I am?"

"I am _not_ fat."

"You're pretty goddamn heavy for someone who's not fat." Yuffie was struggling to hold the awkward bundle of limbs that was Axel.

"What about your love handles?"

Axel poked said love handles and Yuffie squealed indignantly.

"Those are my womanly curves, you asshole!"

"Pfft, womanly curves my ass."

"Come to think of it, you're right, Axel. _You_ have the woman's body between the two of us."

He spluttered for a moment and Yuffie was afraid he'd start coughing again, but she didn't have time to worry about it, as around the corner came was Cid would affectionately and creatively refer to as an "assload" of Heartless.

"Shit!" Yuffie yelled.

"What is it?" Axel shouted in her ear.

"Don't scream in my ear!" Yuffie snapped.

"Well, what is it?" he yelled anyway.

"Uh oh…HOLD ONTO YOUR BALLS, AXEL!"

Yuffie almost dropped Axel on the ground in her haste to get him down off of her shoulder. When he was safely on the ground, she grabbed her large shuriken from where it hung at her belt and held it in front of her, spreading her feet to stabilize her balance. Slowly, she turned it, letting it get faster and faster in her deft hands. As it spun, it began to hum, and then she let go of it. It did not fall to the ground, but continued to hover there, rotating.

She concentrated and could feel physical and magical energies growing in her like a crescendo. They escalated to an unbearable point and then she released them. From the center of the shuriken came a burst of nearly blinding white-blue light. It crushed everything in its path, obliterating all the Heartless in their path. There was not a trace of them left.

She bent over to catch her breath, knowing she had strained herself.

A low whistle sounded behind her. "Didn't think you had it in you, sweetcheeks."

She summoned her best scowl and sent it his way. "I can take care of myself, thanks."

"I see that now," Axel replied, surveying the damage to some of Hollow Bastion's buildings.

Yuffie knew they needed to move quickly. Axel looked pale and drawn and his skin was damp with perspiration when she hauled him to his feet once more.

"Here's your warning," she said as she tossed him over her shoulder.

She ran. That finishing move had gotten rid of the stupid Heartless for the time being, but Yuffie knew better than anyone that they never stayed gone for long. She needed to get to Aerith quickly.

They encountered no sign of anything else that was threatening on their way, which was just as well because using that technique had overtaxed her. It only took them five more minutes to reach the back entrance to Headquarters, but within that five minute period, Axel managed to lose hold of consciousness. He flopped around limply as Yuffie jogged. The roughness was preventing the wound from closing up and Yuffie was afraid he was losing too much blood.

She entered the back door as quietly as she could. Hopefully, if she was lucky, Squ—Leon would be back messing with Tron and Tifa would be out badgering Cloud and Cid would be tinkering with Gummi Ships.

Luck had decided not to be a cruel bitch on that day and allowed her some reprieve. As soon as she stepped over the threshold, a concerned voice fell around her ears.

"Oh, hello, Yuffie. I was—Sweet merciful heavens!"

Aerith took one look at Yuffie and her red-haired burden and started issuing orders in a soft voice that was no less commanding for its softness.

"Set him down over here on this bed, Yuffie," she directed, leading them into a spare room down the hall. "And then you need to get cleaned up. That blood is all his, right? Okay, well, I can handle this for a few minutes while you go and get clean clothes."

Yuffie protested. "Aerith, you can't tell—"

Aerith held a hand up to stall her. "I got it. Whoever this is—and you _will_ be telling me soon—will be kept a secret by me. Now, go and get clean clothes. If you don't want people to ask questions, then walking around covered in blood won't help."

Yuffie nodded. "You're right. Thanks, Aerith." As she left, she heard Aerith call out, "And wash your hair too!"

Yuffie's hair and face were sticky with fluids from Axel's wounds, and her clothes were also stiff with congealing liquid. She decided a very quick shower would be in order.

She managed to avoid being seen by anyone as she navigated the hallways and arrived at her room. She grabbed clean clothes and shed the dirty ones as she stepped into her little bathroom. She had won the room with a private bathroom adjoined in a bet with Cid. They had both been drunk and she had bet him she could stand on her head longer than he could.

Her shower took all of five minutes and then she toweled off and almost sprinted out of the room before she realized she was still in her underwear. Once this situation was rectified, she did sprint down the hall to Axel and Aerith.

Axel was not awake when she returned, but Aerith had stripped him down completely. Yuffie couldn't help it—she took that opportunity to check him out. Her eyes traveled up and down the length of him, drinking in his body, his tapered waist and pale skin. Here and there, raised white areas of his flesh suggested scarring and possible past abuse to his body.

She watched as Aerith's hands danced feather-light across his skin. That was Aerith's specialty—healing. Yuffie wasn't sure where she had learned this thing she could do, and when asked, Aerith just calmly replied that it was "a gift." She never had anything more to say about it and no one really cared to push it. After all, she had been able to mend injuries and hurts since they had all been kids. All of them had been able to do odd things.

Yuffie had been so unnaturally light on her feet and limber that it was uncanny for her age. Nothing seemed to escape her if she was paying attention, for she had eyes as quick as her feet. Leon had interesting skills with a computer. He was always so quiet and contained that when one day he had come home with the gunblade, none of them had really questioned it. Cloud and Tifa were strange in their own way. They had always, even as kids, been very good for each other and very bad for each other. Each kept the other in line in some way or another.

Aerith stood up and covered Axel with a blanket. She looked at Yuffie. "I'm not sure what's going to happen from here on out. He's lost a lot of blood, so I did what I could for that and I stopped the flow, but I couldn't completely close the wound."

Yuffie's eyebrows lifted in surprise. Rarely could Aerith not heal something all the way.

Aerith answered her unvoiced question. "His…being…it's different from anything I've encountered before. It saps my powers to try and heal him. It _works_, but at the same time, it goes unusually slowly."

Yuffie chewed her bottom lip thoughtfully. "Well, however it worked, you did a damn better job than I could have. Thanks, Aerith," she said, turning her earnest gaze to the older woman. "Shouldn't we clean the blood off him or somethin'."

"I was going to get bandages for his head and body so those wounds won't reopen. You go get a bowl of hot water and a rag."

Yuffie did as she was told, retrieving a bowl of hot water and a soft cloth and carefully transporting them down the hallway and back to Axel's room. Aerith was back before Yuffie, already taking the blanket off of the still-unconscious Axel. She waved Yuffie over.

"I need to rest for a moment, so you clean him off and when you're done, I'll wrap him up."

Yuffie nodded and got to work, suddenly highly aware of Axel's unclothed state. She tried not to let Aerith see how she was looking at him as she ran the wet rag over Axel's toned abdomen, rinsing away the congealed and flaky blood.

Yuffie stayed carefully away from the area below his waist that was covered by the blanket, knowing Axel would not appreciate a violation of his privacy while he was unconscious. She did not have the clinical detachment that Aerith deemed to be able to maintain, so she decided it was better not to tempt it.

Thankfully, Aerith saved her by speaking. "Okay, Yuffie. 'Fess up."

"Eh?"

"Who is he? Why are you so keen to save him? Why is he a secret?"

Yuffie gibbered fir a moment. "I…you…"

"No lying."

Crap. And Aerith would know if she lied too, the perceptive woman. She always _could_ tell when Yuffie wasn't being truthful with her.

So Yuffie relaxed her clenched jaw and spilled her guts to the one person who _might_ understand and, like…_not_ kill her.

Maybe.

Yuffie took a deep breath,

"This is Axel." She gestured at his still body. "Axel, Aerith. Aerith, Axel." Axel did not stir at his introduction. "Axel is part of the Organization XIII…or was until _his_ goals began to differ from the rest of the group's intentions. Now they aren't too happy with him, as you can see."

Aerith was right on it. "And what are his goals now?"

"He wants to turn Sora into a Heartless."

"I see."

"Yeah."

"So of course there is some _very good reason_ for you to help him," Aerith said with an expectant smile.

Yuffie summoned something that resembled an answering smile. "Uh, well, he _did_ kind of save my life, but other than that…"

"Good enough for me," said Aerith.

Yuffie paused and looked at her. "What?"

"He saved your life, Yuffie. It's only polite that you save his in return. Besides, there's good in him if he took the time to help you."

"Oh. But Sora—"

"—has always seen things a little too black and white for his own good. But that's why heroes always prevail. It's because that belief allows them to feel no regret about whom they did or did not think hard enough about. That's why we're here—to make these kinds of judgments and clean up behind the scenes."

Aerith smiled placidly as Yuffie gawped at her unabashedly.

"Yuffie," she stage-whispered after a few seconds, "you'll draw flies."

She giggled as the Yuffie snapped her jaw shut.

"Right…uh…I mean—"

"…Yuffie?"

Yuffie's and Aerith's heads swiveled around on the double. Axel's eyes were open and alert, gazing at Yuffie, searching her features.

"Are you all right?" he asked.

Yuffie' barked out a startled laugh. "Am _I_ all right? Look at _you_."

He blinked and lifted his head a little to stare down at himself. He looked at her hands still gently cleansing his wounds and raised a significant eyebrow at her. She flushed hot, vibrant red and hastily removed her hands. He was blood-free by that point anyway.

"You can put those bandages on him now, Aerith." She glared at his smug expression. "And make them tight." She pulled her chair over to the corner and sat down with her arms crossed, determined not to look at his imploring expression.

"Aw, c'mon, you can't be mad at an injured person."

"Watch me."

"I don't want to watch you."

"Then don't."

"Look at me."

"No."

"Yes."

"No."

"Do it."

"I don't want to."

"Yes, you do."

"You can't tell me what I want!"

"I can so. That's what I'm doing right now. You want to look at me. So you should."

"I've had my fill of looking at you."

"AHA! So you _were_ checking me out," Axel said smugly.

"You just wish."

"I don't wish, Yuffie. I know."

Aerith put in her two cents. "Oh, you were checking him out."

"_AERITH!_ Don't help him!"

"Oh, sorry, Yuffie." She didn't sound sorry.

"So look at me."

"I'm not talking to you anymore."

"Why not?"

Yuffie did not reply. She sat with her arms crossed as Aerith pushed Axel forward so she could wrap more bandages around his torso.

"You _do_ have to talk to me sometime."

Yuffie shook her head.

"But won't you miss my witty repartee?"

She rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, you will."

Aerith decided to speak. "So, who did this to you?"

Something came over his features then, dark and quick. "Saix."

"Saix?" Aerith asked.

"He's a member of Organization XIII, known as the Luna Diviner, and as I explained to Yuffie briefly, he's not too pleased with me breaking away from the group. He's one of the strongest fighters in the group. And the nastiest. He doesn't ever have mercy for anyone. Not even former teammates. That's where I come in. We crossed paths, and then _BAM!_" He gestured to the wound that she was almost finished wrapping.

Aerith looked pensive for a moment. "Why is known as the 'Luna Diviner'?"

"Everyone in Organization XIII has a sort of…title," he said slowly.

"Why?"

"I…well…I'm not sure."

"Who gave you all your titles?"

"Well…we did. Or, well, Xemnas did."

"Xemnas?"

"He's our leader."

Aerith cocked her head to the side. "So what's your title?"

"The Flurry of Dancing Flames."

"HAH!" A laugh exploded from Yuffie across the room. She looked slightly disbelieving.

"What?" Axel said, a defensive note to his voice.

"'Flurry of Dancing Flames'? Sounds a little namby-pamby if you ask me, Axel, dear. Why not 'Flower of Beauty' or 'The Twinkletoe Fairy'? Those sound about the same," she teased.

"There is _nothing_ wrong with my title. I'll have you know that it's the best title out of them all!" He was really on the defensive, scowling at her heatedly.

She stared back haughtily. "Oh, yeah? What are the others' titles?"

"Well, let's see…there's the Whirlwind Lancer, the Freeshooter, the Chilly Academic, the Silent Hero, the Cloaked Schemer, the Luna Diviner like I already told you, the Melodious Nocturne, the Gambler of Fate, the Graceful Assassin, the Savage Nymph, and…er…the Key of Destiny. Yep, that's all of them, I think."

"Out of all those really cool names, you get the Flurry of Dancing Flames?"

"What's wrong with that?" Axel replied.

"Well, compared to stuff like the Graceful Assassin and the Key of Destiny, you got the shit end of the stick, I'd say," Yuffie said, shrugging. "The Graceful Assassin…sounds like she kicks ass, whoever she is."

Axel made a sort of choking noise. "The Graceful Assassin is a _man_, Yuffie. Or…_was._ He's kind of dead now."

"A _man?_"

"Yep."

"…Ew. Okay, so maybe you weren't as bad off as some of the others."

"Exactly."

"But I still think you need a different title."

"What do you mean, a different title?"

"Since you're on your sickbed," Yuffie said, "and you will be for the next few days—"

"Days? It won't take me days to heal from this. I'll be up and about in no time."

"I don't care where you think you'll be up and about to. You're staying here and getting rested."

"I've got things I have to—"

"And I don't give a rat's ass."

"I can't—"

"Yes, you can. And you will. Because I said so."

Axel's eyes narrowed. "I suppose you think that you can make me do what you want?"

She nodded resolutely. "I don't _think_. I _know_." Her hand moved to the shuriken clipped to the belt on her waist. He saw the movement and didn't even blink.

"Fine."

"Damn straight."

"I'll stay."

"Of course."

"But only for a few days."

"Yep."

Aerith watched all this with an interested expression. Neither of them noticed the way she seemed to be analyzing their actions. She was taking their measure, soaking in their interactions. With a tiny smile, she slipped out of her chair, listening to the conversation as she stepped out the door and into the hallway. She needed to make sure that no one ventured in that direction until Axel was gone, so she had it in mind to take care of that. She'd let Yuffie and Axel catch up.

"So, about that new title of yours..."

"I don't _need_ a new title, Yuffie."

"Of course you do! Something cooler, something fresh, something…hip. How about, the 'Inferno'? Or, better yet, the 'Dark Inferno'? Yeah, that sounds _awesome!_"

"The _Inferno?_" Axel said dubiously. "Where the hell did that even come from? That's idiotic."

"Well, fine then, mister sassy pants. We'll go with something else, like Ol' Smokey or Charred Doofus. Better?"

"My title is _fine_ the way it is!"

Aerith gently closed the door on them.


	3. Chapter 3

Axel turned out to be a poor sport when it came to bed rest.

Yuffie turned out to have limited patience when it came to Axel being a poor sport about bed rest.

"Will you _sit still_?" she snarled as she fisted a hand in his hair.

"It's hard to sit still when you're _picking at me like a monkey_!" he hissed back.

They were attempting to argue quietly so that Aerith wouldn't come to see what was happening. She had an annoying habit of knowing exactly when they were bickering so that she could interrupt. It was making them frustrated, not being able to argue to their full potentials.

"I am _not_ picking at you like a monkey! I'm _trying_ to brush your hair!"

"My hair doesn't need brushing. It's fine the way it is."

"Which is why it looks like a rat's nest," Yuffie huffed.

"It's not a rat's nest! It looks the same way it always does."

"Like a rat's nest."

"Like gloriously silky smooth tresses."

"Pfft."

Yuffie resumed the arduous task of combing through the hair of a man who had been tossing and turning and generally being a nuisance while lying in bed for the past four days.

"Y'know, this wouldn't even be needed if you had just let me leave the first time I told you I was fine."

"Aerith said you had to stay in bed for a while longer."

"Aerith was lying."

"Nuh-uh! Aerith wouldn't lie, like, _ever_."

"She would if you were paying her, you underhanded sicko."

"I am not _paying_ Aerith to keep you in bed." Yuffie rolled her eyes. "Besides, you like having me wait on you hand and foot."

"You are not waiting on me hand and foot. Maybe once in a while you wait on me with your pinky finger only, but there are no hands and definitely no feet even remotely involved. You just sit here and torture me and tell me knock-knock jokes." Axel balefully eyed the book of jokes where it rested on a table that he couldn't easily access across the room.

"You like those knock-knock jokes," Yuffie said defensively.

"I fell asleep."

"You laughed!"

"Once."

"Nuh-_uh_! You laughed, like…okay, so it was only once, but still, that's an accomplishment with knock-knock jokes. Especially since you have no sense of humor."

"I have a sense of humor, you're just too dumb to understand."

"Your face is dumb."

"I…you…I am not even going to dignify that with a response."

"I'm not even gonna dignify _your face_ with a response."

Axel didn't say anything. He just hissed through his teeth as she caught another snarl in his hair and had to pick through it with her comb. Despite the fact that she was combing the gravity-defying locks, and despite the fact that they had been washed thoroughly, they didn't seem to want to lie flat. To all accounts and purposes, the natural position of his hair was to jut out in crazy directions.

Five minutes later, she was finished. He breathed a sigh of relief when she announced it to be so.

"Gee, you sure are a whiny baby for such a supposedly elite fighter of the Bad Guy Forces," Yuffie remarked offhand.

"I am nothing compared to a woman with a comb," Axel said wryly. She smirked at him.

Just then, a knock came at the door.

"Come in, Aerith."

Aerith stuck her head in the door, green eyes amused. "I was just making sure you were both decent."

"_EW_! What did you _think_ we were doing?"

She shrugged. "How am I supposed to know what you two get up to when you're alone?"

Yuffie made a nasty face at her, while Axel wiggled his eyebrows suggestively and gave Aerith a thumbs-up.

"I came to take the bandages off and see what's going on with that nasty wound of yours, Axel," she said as she advanced on him. Yuffie stepped out of the way, content to leave the Charred Doofus to her friend's ministrations.

Aerith carefully removed the bandages and gauze, revealing nothing but a small, pink area where previously Axel had been bleeding profusely.

"Four days ago your intestines were practically falling out and now suddenly you're fine?" Yuffie asked incredulously.

Axel smirked. "I told you so."

She merely scowled at him.

"So, yes, you're free to go."

"'Free'? I wasn't aware I was a prisoner in the first place," Axel protested.

"'Free' being the key word for 'able to leave without Yuffie beating your face in.'"

"Yuffie couldn't beat my face in if she tried," he snorted.

"HAH!" she barked. "I bet you a zillion dollars I could."

"I'm not betting you crap."

"Why not? Scared?" She raised an incredulous eyebrow.

"No. If I bet you, that would require us to validate the bet, and I wouldn't want to hurt you, my delicate flower."

"I'll take my delicate flower foot and shove it straight up your—"

"Peace, children. It's too early in the morning for such things."

Yuffie harrumphed and looked away from Axel, her arms crossed over her chest. Axel levered himself off the bed and raised his arms into the air, stretching languidly.

"Well, guess this means I gotta hit the road, then," he announced, scratching his hip. "Where're my clothes?" He was clad in only some soft pants Aerith had procured for him.

Yuffie perked up at this. "The coat isn't fixed. Aerith actually didn't know what material it was, so we were going to wait to ask you what it was, but we forgot until now."

"Whatever. A few holes never hurt anybody, and I can get some synth-moogles to fix it for me." Yuffie tried to hide her disappointment.

Aerith looked over her shoulder quizzically as she opened the closet and pulled out his boots, his pants, and his trench coat. Yuffie took it from her for a moment, fingering the hole in the fabric. The coat was surprisingly light, and it didn't feel as though it would be very useful in protecting from the elements.

"What's this thing made of anyway? And why are moogles gonna fix it for you?"

Axel took it from her and shrugged on the coat. From inside the pockets, he produced a pair of gloves. "It's a specially synthesized material that's made to be fireproof. I have a slight problem. Sometimes, when I get…overexcited, things tend to catch fire.

"But you set my boot on fire and it didn't leave a bit of damage…" Yuffie mused.

"That was a little parlor trick of mine. Very small amounts of flame, I can control, to the point where those flames were not actually sprouting from the surface of your boot, but in the air just above it, far enough away that the heat didn't actually touch the rubber."

Yuffie lifted an eyebrow. "What _else_ can you do with those powers?"

He stuck his face very close to hers, close enough that she could feel the heat of his breath as it puffed against her skin. A slow grin curled across his face. "Wouldn't you like to know."

Yuffie stared defiantly back at him for a long, stretched-out moment before a small cough from the other side of the room made them step back guiltily. Axel looked smug and collected, while Yuffie knew she was red in the face from anger and embarrassment.

Aerith looked at Yuffie significantly and then moved out into the hallway. Yuffie gazed after her, not comprehending. She looked back at Axel, but then looked away quickly again when she realized he was untying the drawstring on his pants.

With a, "Jeez, you _could_ have warned me!" thrown over her shoulder, she scurried out of the room.

Almost as soon as she had settled against the wall with Aerith, the door opened again and he stepped out, dressed like usual, excepting the giant, gaping hole in his coat. There was an awkward silence as all three of them stood there.

Axel cleared his throat and scratched at the back of his head, giving them a crooked grin. "See ya 'round?"

Yuffie nodded, and Aerith smiled placidly in return. He pivoted, turned the corner, and then he was out of sight.

A pause, and then, "So…are you going to go after him or what?"

Yuffie stared at Aerith. Aerith stared back, unruffled. Yuffie opened her mouth to reply, closed it, opened it again, turned and ran out the door, quick as a flash.

Just as she stepped over the threshold, she caught a glimpse of something black out of the corner of her eye. It disappeared, but she knew it had to be Axel, heading somewhere to safely open a portal out of sight and out of sensing distance. Some people, like Leon, had a special taste for darkness in the air. Frankly, it gave Yuffie the willies at how good he was at that kind of stuff, but she had never told him so.

She sprinted after him, ducking into the walkway she thought he had taken, but saw neither hide nor hair of him. She didn't pause to think, but went on a hunch of where he would turn up next.

So when Yuffie got to the Bailey as fast as she could, he was just stepping into the portal, tendrils of the dimensional rip reaching out to curl about his legs like a caress. She called out his name and his head snapped around.

"Yuffie! What is it this time?"  
She didn't slow her manic run, barreling straight into him and almost toppling him to the ground. It did manage to knock him a few steps away from the portal however. She could feel it at her back, and the presence of it sent icy chills down her spine. It pulsed with an aura she didn't like, but at the same time drew her closer.

With her arms wrapped around him, she looked up into his face. "That was the lamest goodbye _ever_."

"What are you talking about?"

"'See ya 'round'? What kinda bullhockey is that? Jeez."

"What did you _want_ me to say?" he asked, looking baffled.

"I dunno, somethin' like, 'Farewell, my beautiful damsel' or 'I will return to you upon the morn.' Something _cool_."

"Those weren't cool! Those were idiotic," he said, scowling down at her. He made no attempt to squirm away from her, which was a good sign that she wasn't crushing his ribs completely.

"Well, maybe those weren't cool," she conceded, "but yours was just _lame_."

He huffed. "I don't have time for this."

"Yes, you do."

"Look, I've been here for four days. I _need_ to get going, Yuffie."

Something occurred to her then. "Oh, _crap_! What about Kairi?"

He sighed, rubbing her arms absentmindedly. "She's fine. I promise she is."

"Who feeds her? Does she have somewhere to sleep? Oh, my _gawd_! Does she even have a _toilet_?" Yuffie's eyes were as big as saucers.

Axel rolled his eyes. "She's _fine_. She's in a safehouse, with food, water, _and_ a bathroom. She doesn't know how to get out, but she's okay."

"Speaking of that," Yuffie said, with a note of hesitancy to her voice. "Are you ever gonna tell me why you have her? Are you ever gonna let her go?"

"Yuffie," he sighed. He couldn't look her in the face. "One day, I'll be able to tell you the whole story. One day, but not today."

She opened her mouth to protest, but then thought better of it, shutting it with a snap. Instead, she plunged her face into the fabric on his chest, nuzzling with her nose. She felt his hand in her hair, threading through the short, ragged strands. The moment didn't last long. She felt him exhale slowly, and then he pushed back from her.

"This is nice, but, really, there's no telling what Kairi's been doing in that house for four days with me gone." He gave her his already-familiar, crooked grin. She couldn't help but grin cheerfully back.

"You're right. From what Sora tells me of Kairi, she wouldn't sit there for long without kicking down the walls."

Axel whistled through his front teeth and ran a hand through his hair. "She sure _seems_ calm, but man, you do not wanna make her mad."

Yuffie smothered a laugh. "What the hell did you say?"

"Somethin' about Sora's hair being stupid. She didn't take that too well."

This time she didn't hold it. She threw her head back and laughed, slapping her knee. "Good going, genius. From everything Sora says about her, you can tell those two are gonna get married one day."

His eyes narrowed. "Yeah, well, I learned my damn lesson, that's for sure."

Axel leaned down and wrapped her in his arms, resting his chin on the top of her head.

"Come back soon?" she asked.

"I can't make any promises."

"_Axel_."

"Maybe not soon, but I'll be back."

"You'd better. Doofus."

"Farewell, my delicate flower," he said, trailing his fingers along her jaw as he stepped away. He turned and stepped into the dark portal.

Just as it began to disappear, closing in around his figure and becoming smaller and smaller, something dark shifted in Yuffie's peripheral vision. She whipped around in a split second, and realized another dark portal had blossomed into thin air in the opposite corner of the Bailey.

"_AXEL_!" she shouted, just as the very last bit of the dimensional rip vanished from sight.

"Hmmm," a cold voice mused from off to her left. Immediately, she took on a defensive crouch, and with a movement so quick it was almost invisible, she snatched five small shuriken from one of her pockets, holding them in both hands.

"I don't know who you are, but apparently, you know Axel," said the man standing several yards away from her. He was of average height and weight, shorter than Axel, but not overly so. His eyes were a startling shade of yellow, offset weirdly by the candy-blue of his hair. A deep, X-shaped scar crossed between his eyes perfectly.

More importantly though, he was wearing the exact same outfit that Axel always did. If she hadn't seen him step straight out of a dark dimensional rip in the air, she would have known he was a member of Organization XIII by his clothing alone. They were rather a conspicuous bunch, she realized.

He continued speaking, taking small steps in a sort of arc from his original position. Yuffie watched his movements carefully as he spoke.

"And if you know Axel, and you're unharmed, that means you must be friends with him," he said slowly. When this garnered no reaction from her, he added, "Or at least, the two of you are not enemies."

"What of it?" she spat, the hostile note in her voice very clear.

His expression didn't change. "Tell me where he is."

She shrugged. "Nah."

"Don't waste my time. Where is he hiding himself?" There was an edge to his tone.

"I don't know, and even if I did, I wouldn't tell _you_," she said, the last word a singsong note. She stuck her little pink tongue out at him, flipping her hair in the next motion.

His eyebrows came down, giving him a very fierce expression in combination with the scar between his eyes. "I think you do know, and even if you don't, it won't hurt me to try to get it out of you by force."

Yuffie grinned wolfishly. "Try me."

He held out his hand, and Yuffie watched as out of nowhere, a weapon materialized. It was painted yellow and several shades of blue, with a circular, blunt end. She snorted.

"Whatcha gonna do, smack me around with your giant piñata stick?"

He jerked his wrist ever so slightly, and from the club-like head appeared seven short, razor-sharp spikes. They made a _shink_ noise as they came into existence. Yuffie tried not to let her surprise show on her face.

She almost didn't have time to react as he lunged. His speed was incredible. She didn't dwell on that as she performed a cartwheel to her right, ending it in a back handspring that got her out of the way of his attack.

He turned immediately, making a deliberate and obvious swing for her head, but she ducked, using the momentum to fall into a roll that took her under his arm. She sprang into a standing position fluidly, flicking two of her shuriken at his back. He phased out of sight, coming back into view on her right, swinging the weapon high over his head.

His speed was a problem, but obviously the size of his weapon hindered him a bit. Yuffie was having no trouble dodging his offensive attacks, but when she threw her other three shuriken, he was able to avoid those completely. She pulled her large shuriken out of its holster on her back, bringing it up to block when the delay of that movement allowed him an opening. The metal surfaces of the two objects met with a teeth-jarring clang, and then Yuffie was stuck in a defensive mode as her blue-haired opponent came at her relentlessly.

She made a mistake when he came from above and then from behind, pushing off the wall to force his way through the air toward her. She wasn't fast enough when she turned to block, and he hit her. Yuffie felt skin tear and hot blood stream down her arm. Breathing raggedly, she dropped her shuriken to the stone, spinning acrobatically out of the way of his next attack. Her right arm was useless, and she wasn't as accurate with her left.

She charged him, flicking six small shuriken in his direction, which he deflected easily with the broad side of his weapon. With a somersault and a jaunty recovery that jarred her wound, she swept up her large shuriken and held it in her left hand.

What she really needed was to get out into the open. Her long range attacks with the large shuriken dealt loads more damage from a distance with a good, full throw. But she couldn't seem to get to the exit or entrance to the Bailey without him blocking her way. She was in deep shit, and she knew it.

When she attempted to do another back handspring, he cut her off, knocking her forcefully to the ground. Yuffie brought her left hand up, trying to defend herself, but he sent her weapon spinning in another direction. She didn't have time to get out of the way as his weapon flashed downward at an alarming rate.

'_I'm dead, I'm dead, I'm dead, I'm dead, I'm dead!_' she thought frantically.

A blast of superheated air warmed Yuffie's face. A plume of flame, blindingly bright, flew over her from where she was lying on the ground and sent her assailant flying into the opposite wall. She scrambled off the ground and out of Axel's path as he leapt into the air and shot off a small, hot fireball.

"Thought I heard you say my name at the last second! Could've swore I was hearing things!" He parried the attack from the recovered Organization member.

"Could you _be_ any more late?" Yuffie yelled at him, clutching her still-bleeding arm.

"Hey, at least I'm _here_, right? It's a good thing I didn't ignore my feeling something was wrong!"

"Axel," said the man, "give this up. There's no way you can win. I outrank you, and I can outfight you."

"Fat chance, moon boy! You hurt Yuffie, and now I'm gonna cut you." Axel swung a chakram under the man's defenses as he said it, tearing the fabric across the man's thigh. As far as Yuffie could see, however, the Organization member moved fast enough that no flesh damage was done.

He turned his strange yellow eyes to her briefly before refocusing on Axel. "So her name is Yuffie? Is she valuable to you, Axel?"

He made a move toward her, but Axel was there in a flash, obstructing his path. "Saïx," he snarled, his face dark.

Yuffie's eyes widened. Saïx was the guy that had beaten the mess out of Axel just a few days before. Already she could see that he was gaining an advantage, and there was no way Axel was going to be able to hold Saïx off without help. She reached down into one of her other pockets, looking for the rest of the small shuriken. She usually kept anywhere from fifteen to twenty of them on her at a time.

Creeping slowly around to a better angle, she made sure Saïx was engrossed with Axel before she threw the projectiles as hard as she could. She didn't want to hit Axel, but if he didn't have some help, then it wouldn't matter soon if she hit him or not—he would be dead.

One ended up embedded deeply in Saïx's right shoulder blade, another clipped his waist, and yet another grazed Axel's arm. Saïx arched his back in pain, hissing briefly, and Axel took that opportunity to blast him with more fire.

Evidently, Saïx's suit was made of some similar material to Axel's. It didn't catch fire, but some of it was singed and fell away, leaving room for the skin underneath to be burned. He was pushed into the air by the force of the fire, and with a swipe of one of his own weapons, Axel sent Saïx's off in Yuffie's direction.

A strong compulsion urged Yuffie to take the weapon, and for some reason, she obeyed it, grasping the handle of the heavy thing. It only felt cumbersome for a few more moments, and then her body was flooded with a strange, searing heat, and she no longer felt anything but boiling rage.

Her vision hazed over, like red film, and she didn't even know what she was doing any more. She acted on instinct, lashing out when she felt the urge. She felt metal connecting with flesh over and over again, and then in an explosion of mind-numbing fury, she let loose in a spinning attack that she couldn't believe she had performed.

The weapon vanished from her grip, and with it went the fog around her mind, but she felt the lingering aftereffects of the anger. Saïx was scrambling away on the ground, clutching multiple bleeding wounds to his torso. Axel swooped in on her, and with a wave of his hand, he opened a portal, half-carrying, half-shoving her into it.

Yuffie felt darkness swallow her, choking out any emotions she had.

- - - - - - - - - -

Yuffie blinked.

It was some time before she realized that she had, in fact, blinked, but she did eventually come to the conclusion that her eyelids had moved in an upward motion which was followed immediately by a rapid downward motion. They came up again, and then they stayed that way some time before repeating the blinking process.

She couldn't see anything, but she could feel herself blinking, and then slowly she became aware of her own existence. She could feel herself breathing, and she could even hear her own heartbeat. The sound of it swelled in her ears, echoing and turning into a dull roar. The air whistled through her lungs, creating an odd accompaniment to the blood in her veins.

Then a light twinkled in her vision. It spread slowly, like a fuse burning across her retinas and then filling everything, turning into odd, swirling colors that melded and mixed and exploded into one another endlessly. The colors eventually coalesced into something that made sense, solidifying and becoming the sharp, angular framework of Axel's black-clad body.

"Oh, good, you're awake."

She blinked again, crossing and uncrossing her eyes as his face came fully into focus. "Awake?"

"Yeah, you were out for about…hmmm, I'd say fifteen seconds." He cocked his head at her. "Feelin' all right?"

"Yeah. Fine. Why did I pass out?" She felt stupid. Yuffie Kisaragi never passed out like a sissy girl!

He shrugged. "Blood loss. Adrenaline. The combination of going Berserk on Saïx and stepping into complete nothingness for the very first time in your life."

"Oh."

"Yep."

"Now what?"

"Now, we go visit Kairi at my little place, and I will do my best in patching you up." Axel snaked an arm around her waist quickly, and tugged her in a specific direction. Another door in the dimensions opened, looking exactly the same as the last one they had entered, and he half-dragged her to it.

"But wait! Why can't we just go back to Aerith?" she protested, clutching at his shoulder.

"Because now Saïx knows about you, and if we went back there, we'd be putting Aerith and all your other friends into serious danger. I don't care how great you are at fighting, or how quick you are, Yuffie, there's no possible way you and your friends could beat Saïx if he brought reinforcements."

Yuffie was going to disagree again, but his strange aqua gaze caught hers and she shut her mouth, looking at the multi-colored ground they were traversing.

"You're right," she sighed. She thought for a moment, and then said, "What did you mean?"

"About what?"

"Me going 'Berserk' on Saïx. Was that what that was?"

They had reached the dimensional rip, and Axel pushed her through first, going out after her. Yuffie managed to stay conscious that time around, and she observed their surroundings.

They were standing in the middle of a rolling grassland. It was midday, or something like it, because the sun was shining down with almost annoying cheer. The heads of wildflowers bobbed in the light, refreshing breeze that lifted the ends of her headband and tangled them with her hair. The sky was an impenetrable, opaque shade of blue, extending forever beyond the horizon.

Axel cleared his throat, continuing the conversation. "Yeah, you went nuts on him. If he drops his claymore and someone is nearby, something in it makes them want to pick it up. I've done it once before, and all I remember was this…anger. And this sort of savage joy every time the blades connected with something solid. It was almost like being a wildfire."

He wasn't looking at her. He was staring off at the edge of the world, flexing his gloved hands. They leather creaked as he did so.

"Uh, Axel…"

"You're bleeding."

"Yeah."

"Turn around."

Yuffie pivoted. Behind her, off in the distance a bit, there was a small house. It was very pleasant-looking, actually, and Yuffie was surprised at the white outer walls and the dark green shutters. The whole thing appeared very quaint, to say the least.

"Your place?" she asked, raising an eyebrow as Axel looped his arm under her ribs to help support her. She was feeling lightheaded, and she suspected she didn't look all that healthy at that moment.

"You could say that," he said smoothly, smirking at her from down his nose.

She rolled her eyes at him. "Cute," she panted. "Pansy."

He snorted at her, and in one quick movement, swept her up into his arms and proceeded to carry her to the house, walking at a faster pace.

"Hey!" she squealed.

"You were going too slow. I hate walking slow."

"So? I am perfectly capable of doing this myself."

"Obviously not, at the pace you were going. If I had let you walk all the way there like that, I'd have grown a full-length beard when we got there."

"Ew. That would scare Kairi."

"She'd pee her pants."

"And then she'd beat you up."

"…she's so…"

"Scary? Frighteningly innocent? That is, if she's anything like Sora."

"Yeah. Those."

Yuffie was feeling increasingly dizzy, and she labored to keep her breathing steady. Even without walking, she felt taxed by being awake. She suspected she had lost a good bit of blood from the deep wound in her arm. It throbbed.

"Hey, Axel…"

"Yeah?"

"I dunno if I'm gonna be able to—"

"We're here."

Yuffie looked up from his dark chest to the green front door. She made a note to herself to ask him where the _hell_ he had come up with a place like this.

She lost her tenuous grip on consciousness, and as she was slipping gratefully away, she heard the door open and a young girl's voice say irately, "Where have you b—Oh!"


	4. Chapter 4

Yuffie awakened.

"Nngh," she said intelligently.

"Good morning, sunshine," an overly familiar, overly chipper voice said in her ear.

Yuffie wanted to say "five more minutes, mommy," but when she felt just how dry her mouth was, she rasped, "Water."

"Got it covered," said a different voice. She felt someone's hand behind her back, helping her sit up straight. She rubbed the sleep out of her eyes, attempting to pry open her gummy lashes.

Something cool pressed into her hands, and she wrapped her fingers cautiously around the smooth surface of what was, to her relief, a glass of water.

She tipped the glass back and tipped her head back, gulping, then slowing down, knowing she would make herself sick if she didn't relax. After she had emptied the glass, she opened her eyes, adjusting them to the bright sunlight that filtered in through the windows.

Sitting on either side of her bed were Kairi and Axel. Kairi was holding a pitcher of water and grinning at her, and Axel was staring her up and down, a slight smirk resting on his lips.

"Uh…hi."

Axel opened his mouth to say something but was completely run over by Kairi. "Hi, Yuffie! Sora's told me so much about you and it's so good to finally meet you! I mean, I kind of met you when Axel brought you in, but you sorta passed out before I could really say anything to you, so now that you're aw—"

She broke off with a muffled noise as Axel came up behind her, reached a hand around, and covered her mouth. Her eyebrows drew down in a deep line and she struggled, attempting to stomp on his feet or elbow him in the gut. He danced out of her reach easily, all the while keeping his gloved hand clamped over the lower half of her face.

"Right, so…good to see you awake, Yuffie."

Yuffie grinned in spite of herself. "Good to be awake, I guess." She flopped back down o the pillows dramatically, regretting the sudden movement as her head throbbed.

"Wouldn't move around too much if I were you," Axel said unhelpfully, releasing Kairi.

"You _jerk_! _What_ is your problem? Don't you know it's rude to put your hands on someone without their permission? Hasn't your mother ever—"

Axel rounded on her, a tense, annoyed smile crawling across his mouth and making his eyebrow twitch. "Kairi, dear, I will politely remind you that I do not have a mother, and never had. I was not born from a womb. I was born from a cradle of darkness and agony, and I suggest you go find some way to amuse yourself before you discover that cradle of darkness and agony."

Kairi blew a strand of hair out of her face and stomped out, white-faced with anger.

Yuffie quirked an eyebrow as he rolled his eyes and slumped back into the chair by her bed. "Uh…cradle of darkness and ag—"

"Look," he interjected, sounding exasperated, "I already have to deal with her on a daily basis, and that's stressful enough. Don't you go making it harder on me." He massaged his temples. She had never seen him less composed. She repressed her laughter.

"So, you kidnapped her and now—"

He cut her off again. "Worst decision I ever made. If I ever decide to kidnap anyone again and I happen to tell you of my plans, please, _please_ throw me off a cliff."

"How long has she been here?"

He eyed her from beneath his brows. "I don't even know anymore, but as sweet as she is, I just want her gone."

Yuffie looked around her. "So this is your house?"

He grimaced. "Well, so to speak."

"What the hell does that mean? Is it your house or isn't it?"

"It's not technically a house."

Yuffie frowned at him. "Uh, Axel, as far as I can see, it's a house. Or is this one of those things where I look at the picture and see a bunny, but you look and see a duck?"

He stared at her.

"Never mind. Just…never mind. What do you mean it's not a house?"

"Technically, this is a dimension that I discovered floating about in the doors to darkness, among millions of others. It was merely a realm of nonexistence, but by applying my thoughts to it, as someone who regularly manipulates space, I have created what you see here."

"A house?"

"That and the surrounding area."

What Yuffie remembered from before she had passed out was a little vague. She frowned again, trying to recollect.

Something occurred to her at that moment, and she glanced at her arm. There was a shiny pink area where Axel had apparently used cure magic on her, but there was only so far that sort of thing could go. She could tell it was going to take a few days to heal completely.

He cocked his head at her and ran a hand through his hair, mussing it further. "Want the grand tour?" He spread his hands.

She pretended to think about for a moment, "hmm"ing and making thoughtful noises. He rose from his seat. "Fine then, if it's that hard to choose, I'll just leave you here."

He started to walk out when she chirped, "Okay!"

"'Okay' you want the grand tour or 'okay' you'll just stay here?"

"Grand tour, please thanks."

Axel walked over and looped an arm underneath her shoulders before she could think and heaved her off the bed, forcing her into a standing position.

"I can walk, y'know," she protested indignantly.

He lifted an eyebrow. "Really."

"Yes, really, dumb-head."

"'Kay."

He released her, whipping his arm away from her before she could blink. His support gone, her knees wobbled and tipped. Before she could hit the ground, he caught her.

"All right," she said shakily, "so maybe I can't walk."

"Yuffie, you've been asleep for almost twenty-four hours now, so I don't think you can expect to be in tip-top shape."

"_Twenty-four hours_?" she almost yelled.

He nodded grimly. "Saïx really took it out of you."

"But it was only a wound on my arm!"

"True, but you lost a good bit of blood…"

"But I was asleep for almost a whole day? That's nuts, Axel! That's _never_ happened to me before."

"…you've also never gone Berserk before, and on top of that, you were wounded."

"Oh."

"Yeah, so that's probably what did it. Blood loss on top of flying into a Berserk rage and bustin' up Saïx's shit. Oh, uh, good job on that, by the way."

He started leading her out of the room, leading her into a hallway and through a door at the end of that, into a sunny room with a large bookcase and a comfortable-looking couch.

"Yeah, I was pretty damn awesome," Yuffie said, stroking her own ego.

"This, here, is the living room," said Axel. "And, yeah, you were awesome, but it doesn't really matter because Saïx was going easy on you."

"What? You're just jealous because I was whooping his ass while you were gone!"

Axel had led her into the room next to the living area. It was a cozy little kitchen with a well-stocked pantry and a small table in the center.

"As you can see, this is the kitchen." He made a sweeping gesture with his hand. "You weren't whooping his ass, _obviously_, 'cause when I got there, you were laying on the ground, bleeding all over the place. Saïx was going easy on you, or else you would've been dead."

"You're a liar. We were evenly matched until he knocked my weapon out of my hand."

"Yuffie," Axel said, sounding suddenly very serious, "I know Saïx. I've fought beside him and against him, and he is one strong bastard. You're really fast and flexible, and you actually do outclass him in that area, but you are not stronger than him. Eventually, he would've killed you. In fact, he had the power to do that the whole time."

"Then why was he going easy on me, if that's the theory you're sticking with?"

"Because he wanted to determine just how important you are to me," he said, turning his head to look at her.

"What would be the point in that?"

"The reason Saïx is more powerful than you," he said, "_and_ me, is that he is a tactical genius. Not just battle tactics either. He loves to play head games with people. He's a sick fuck, and he's good at being a sick fuck."

Yuffie mulled that over, chewing the inside of her cheek and refusing to look him in the eye. Finally, she said, "I guess I could see where you're right. Because if I'm important to you, and he finds that out, he could do whatever he wanted with that information?"

"Exactly," Axel replied.

There was a pause. Yuffie said, very softly, "Am I important to you, Axel?"

His eyes flickered to hers, glittering oddly.

His face was so very close to hers; so close, in fact, that she could feel his breath as he exhaled. He was staring at her so intensely, too, and she felt the heat rising in her cheeks, the blood rushing to her head…

"Hey, Axel," Kairi's voice drifted around the corner, the rest of her following shortly afterwards. "You giving Yuffie the grand tour?"

At the sound of her voice, their heads jerked back and they looked away from each other, staring awkwardly at the floor.

Axel cleared his throat, a very stiff smile plastered across his face. "Yep. That's exactly what I was doing! So, like I said before, Yuffie, this is the, uh…the kitchen. Yes, the kitchen. Where we make food. And eat. And, um…"

Kairi looked at them through narrowed eyes. "Are you two all right?"

Yuffie said "Perfectly fine, wonderful, incredible, great, never felt better!" at the same time that Axel exclaimed "Of course! Why wouldn't we be fine, Kairi?"

She stared at them, a strange look on her face. Slowly, she said, "Ho-_kay_ then. I'll just, uh, go…work on my painting or something…"

She exited through the other door in the kitchen, shaking her head at them the whole time..

"Look, I think I've had enough of the grand tour for now, if you don't mind, Axel," Yuffie said, leaning against him heavily. "Can we just rest for a bit?"

He nodded. "I'll take you outside. The fresh air ought to do you some good."

He led her out the same door Kairi had taken, stepping out onto a back porch. Low eaves blocked the mid-afternoon son usefully, giving the porch some lovely shade. A light, warm breeze ruffled the hair sitting on Yuffie's neck, making her sigh with pleasure. On one end of the porch, Kairi was staring hard at an easel, her tongue caught between her teeth. She had a palette of paints held in one hand and a brush in the other. On the railing next to her were several different brushes. A few of them dripped paint onto the wood.

Axel rolled his eyes. "Would you pay attention to what you're doing? You're getting paint all over my house."

Kairi glanced down to her paintbrushes, rolled her eyes back at him and went back to her task. She was too absorbed in her activity to acknowledge Axel's muttering.

He half-lifted Yuffie and descended the stairs, stepping into the tall grasses and bright, fragrant flowers. They came clear up to his knees, caressing the black of his coat. He eased her to the ground and she lay back, staring up at the sharp blue of the sky and the bulbous white clouds.

She sighed peacefully as Axel slipped into a sitting position and reclined, hands pillowing behind his head.

Yuffie peered at him out of the corner of her eyes, his features indistinct, his red hair like flames. Her eyes flickered back up to the sky.

She pointed. "That cloud right there. See? Looks like…a dinosaur."

Axel squinted, turning his head from side to side. "Eh, looks more like a turtle to me."

Yuffie scowled at him. "A turtle? That looks _nothing_ like a turtle. Where in the world did you get a turtle from that? It is _obviously_ a dinosaur, _sir_."

"Surely you jest, _madam_. That can't be anything but a turtle."

They argued about clouds for a good while before they fell asleep in the grass together.

-

"Wakey, wakey, sleepyheads."

Yuffie felt something brush her side and saw that Axel was moving around, wriggling into a standing position. He reached a hand down to her and she used it as leverage to haul herself to her feet.

Kairi was smiling indulgently at them as the orange glare of the evening sun played about her. It struck Yuffie that Kairi seemed very motherly for her age. She had a funny feeling it came from dealing with Sora for extended periods of time.

Yuffie yawned and stretched, feeling stiff. "How long were we asleep?"

Kairi shrugged. "A couple of hours. I figured I'd leave you alone since you both act weird whenever I try to come around."

Yuffie felt the heat rush to her face but ignored it. Axel scoffed. "Whatever." He set off for the house. "I'm starved. Anyone up for some chow?"

Yuffie's stomach rumbled. She realized she hadn't eaten in over a day. Not since breakfast the morning before Axel left Hollow Bastion.

"I'm game," she offered and followed him inside. Kairi walked beside her, making conversation.

"So, Sora's told me a lot about you and your friends, Yuffie," said Kairi. "He said he even fought you once. Did he beat you like he told me or was he just being a bragger?"

Yuffie scowled. "That little punk beat me. But I would've won if I hadn't had a cold and sprained ankle and if I hadn't lost eight of my shuriken and forgot to bring potions and—"

Axel snorted. Only his rear end was visible as he rummaged through the refrigerator. "That's a whole lot of ways to say the kid's stronger than you, Yuffie."

"He is _not_ stronger than me. No way can a kid with hair like that and shoes that large be stronger than me. No possible way. I mean, look at me! I'm the epitome of a warrior!" Yuffie struck a pose, flexing her arms.

Axel looked like he was trying not to laugh as he caught sight of her. He was setting a few things out on the counter. Shortly afterward, he went digging around in the cupboards.

Kairi flashed her a smile. "I never thought Sora was that strong. I mean, Riku used to beat him at racing and stuff all the time. I used to watch them wrestle and play-fight when we still lived on the islands. He was never really that good."

"Yeah, well," Axel said, voice muffled, "becoming the chosen wielder of the Keyblade can do some weird things to a person, y'know?"

"You got that right," said Yuffie. "I think _I_ should've been chosen as the wielder of the keyblade. I'm pure of heart and light of foot, not to mention I'm adorable. What more could you want in a hero?"

"_You_ are _not_ pure of heart," Axel shot back. Yuffie stuck her tongue out at him.

"Aw, that's not nice, Axel," Kairi defended Yuffie. "I'm sure Yuffie's _very_ pure of heart!"

"That's sweet of you, Kairi, but you don't know this babe like I do." Axel was setting salad bowls down on the table, next to salad items. "Hey, uh, Kairi, do you mind doing the cooking again tonight? I'll make the salad, but you know how I tend to burn things…"

Yuffie cocked an eyebrow. "You burn things? That is _too_ funny. I thought you were the Flurry of Dorky Flames or something."

Axel glared at her. "The Flurry of _Dancing_ Flames, and it's not that easy. Sometimes I get a little overzealous."

Kairi sighed. "Fine. What are we having tonight?"

"I already have the ingredients ready. Wanna make spaghetti?"

"Sure, why not."

Yuffie spoke up. "What do you think you're doing, calling me 'babe'?" she said indignantly.

Axel looked at her blankly before it dawned on him. "Jeez, you're slow on the uptake. You don't like to be called babe?"

"I think it's demeaning."

"It's not demeaning. It's just an affectionate term."

"Oh, so now you have _affection_ for me."

"A bit. As it is, you're pushing it."

"Jerk."

"Harpy."

Yuffie huffed and crossed her arms over her chest. Kairi had started boiling the noodles, so she opted to watch the billowing steam from the pot rather than look at Axel's smirking face.

"Besides, how well do you think you know me?"

"Better than Kairi, at any rate. She just met you today."

"Yeah, and I've met you a total of three times."

"I figure we'll have plenty of time to remedy that situation."

Yuffie blinked and looked at him sharply. "What are you talking about, Axel?" she said, suddenly deadly serious.

He scratched the back of his head, refusing to look at her. Then he sighed. "I think you know what I mean."

Kairi sighed as well, her shoulders visibly slumping. She looked over her shoulder, momentarily distracted from stirring the noodles. "Just tell her Axel, so she can go ahead and be angry at you now."

"What is she talking about, Axel? If she means what I think she means, I may have to rip your face off a little."

"And what is it that you think she means, Yuffie?"

Her gray eyes narrowed. "I think she means that we'll be here for a very long time."

There was an extremely long, extremely tense pause.

"Axel," Yuffie said through her teeth. "I'm _going to kill you_."

He held up his hands in a placating gesture. "I knew you were going to be mad! I was hoping I could wait to tell you after you'd had some more rest, but I guess now was the time."

"…why."

"Because…" Kairi said softly, her face turned away from them. Yuffie looked up at her. "Because he needs me to get to Sora."

"Explain yourself."

"Yuffie—"

"You'd better give me a damn good reason that I'm gonna be here, away from my friends, leaving them in danger, away from Hollow Bastion, for an extended period of time. Right now."

He hesitated again, and Kairi broke in once more, her voice barely audible. "He's looking for Roxas, actually."

"Roxas?"

"Mmhmm. Axel's best friend's name was Roxas."

"His name _is_ Roxas. He's not past tense," Axel said curtly. "Thank you, Kairi, but I think I'll tell the story."

His gaze fell on Yuffie's, and anything she thought she might have said died in her throat at the intensity of his eyes.

"I've only ever had one friend in my life. Or non-life, or whatever the hell you want to call it," Axel began. "His name is Roxas, and the only way I can get him back…is—well, the only way…"

"…is to turn Sora into a Heartless," Kairi finished, her voice more firm than before.

Axel nodded. "Yeah. I gotta turn Sora into a Heartless."

"What…the hell…are you going on about?" Yuffie asked, skeptical.

"Yuffie, do you know what a Nobody is?"

"Organization XIII are Nobodies. But if that's not meant to imply that you're all losers, then no, I don't know what a Nobody is."

"A Nobody is what is created when a being with a strong will is transformed into a

Heartless. The heart is gone, but the body remains, the original power intact. That shell is called a Nobody. That's what I am. I am a being with no heart and no real emotions."  
Yuffie protested, "That doesn't even make sense. How can you have no real emotions? You get angry, you have a sense of humor, albeit a crappy one…"

"But I'm not actually _feeling_ those things. Those are not real feelings. There is no being in the universe that is capable of feeling emotions without a heart to make them."

"I still say that's completely ridiculous."

Axel looked away. "Well, believe what you want, but that's the truth of the matter."

Yuffie decided for a change of pace. "So who the hell is Roxas and what does he have to do with Sora?"

"Roxas was…my best friend in the Organization. When he decided to leave one day, I couldn't stop him, and I haven't seen him since then. Well…I saw him, sort of. But he didn't know who I was, so I don't think it really counts. Besides, directly after that, he rejoined Sora."

"Wait, wait, what?"

Kairi joined in. "When Sora was in Hollow Bastion, he realized that all the time he was looking for me, he really didn't need to look any farther than himself. He had me the whole time. My heart was living inside his, so he took a dark Keyblade and rammed it through his own heart, releasing me. But in the process, he turned himself into a Heartless."

Yuffie blinked. The story was a lot to take in. "You'll have to tell me how you were lounging around in his heart later. So, when Sora turned into a Heartless…"

"…Roxas was born," Axel said softly. "The Organization took him in, but he always felt like something was wrong, like he was missing something. He always wanted to know where he'd come from. Because of that…nothing could stop him from leaving, not even me, his best friend."

"So now…he's part of Sora again?" Yuffie asked. "Does Sora know about all of this?"

"He has no idea, as far as I can see," Axel replied.

"And you've got some ridiculous plan that by holding _her_," Yuffie pointed at Kairi, "captive, you can somehow lure in Sora and…then what?"

Axel scratched his head. "Actually, I, uh…hadn't actually thought of that yet."

Before he could react, Yuffie was out of her chair and standing over him. She cuffed him over the head sharply, and he yelped, his hands jumping to the spot where there was sure to be a lump. He probed it gently.

"What was _that_ for?"

"For being an idiot, for inconveniencing me _and_ Kairi with your idiocy, and for being the most god-awful, suckiest bad guy that ever did walk the planet."

He shrugged. "You're right. I never was good at this villain thing. What do you suggest I do?"

She chewed her bottom lip, thinking.

A strange gleam came to his eye. "I could tie her to train tracks and see if he'll come then."

"You don't have a handlebar moustache to twirl, so that option's out," Yuffie replied confidently.

"Oh, darn."

Kairi spoke up once more, sounding confident. "He'll come for me no matter what, guys, so you don't have to sit and think up a plan."

"Sheesh, what makes _you_ so confident?" Axel asked.

"Because that's the way Sora is. It's the way he's _always_ been." She graced them with an easy smile.

"Well, if he's anything like Roxas—"

"Uh, don't you mean if Roxas is anything like Sora?" Yuffie wondered aloud.

Axel shot her a look. "If he's anything like Roxas," he tried again, "then he's doing everything he can to find a way to get to you."

"And pardon me for picking apart your oh-so-brilliant plan, Axel, but how the hell is Sora supposed to travel between dimensions?"

"Eh."

"What the fuck does that mean?" Yuffie almost yelled.

"He'll find a way. I mean, Kairi did, so-to-speak."

"What?"

"She was prancing about, following King Mickey's little doggy through the doors to darkness. That dog's weird…always seems smarter than your average dog…"

Yuffie stared in amazement at Kairi. "You mean you just waltzed right into a dark portal, not knowing where it could possibly go?"

Kairi blinked. "Well, to be honest, at the time I didn't really remember anything about Sora, just that he existed and I needed to find him. And also, Axel was being creepy and threatening."

"I was not!"

"I can't believe you were being creepy and threatening! Actually, wait, yes I can. Being creepy and threatening is something you're not half-bad at. I would know." Yuffie smirked smugly at him. "I mean, really, if you look up creepy in the dictionary, your face is there as an example."

"How old are you, twelve? I can't _tell_ you the last time I heard that insult."

"How old are _you_, Axel?" Yuffie shot back, sticking her tongue out at him cheekily.

There was an awkward pause.

"I don't know," he finally said.

"…huh?" Yuffie was really looking at him now.

"I said I don't know. I mean, it's been a while since I came into existence, but I don't really know how old my other was when the dumb bastard got turned into a Heartless. How old do I look?"

Yuffie chewed her bottom lip, thinking. Kairi piped up, "I'd say you look about twenty or so!"

Yuffie shook her head thoughtfully. "No, no," she said, "look at the way his body is developed. Clearly the state of his muscles and the way his face is shaped and the register of his voice indicates that he can't be a day over five years old."  
Kairi snorted with laughter and Axel just glowered at her, disgruntled.

"Say, I think the noodles are ready. Lemme just drain the water and they'll be fit to eat. I heated some sauce from when we made spaghetti a few nights ago. Axel, fix the salad."

"Yes, ma'am," he said sarcastically, peeling lettuce leaves.

"So what do I do?"

"You can set the table. Silverware's in second drawer to the left," Kairi said, jerking her head in that general direction. Yuffie did as she was asked, all the while marveling at the absurdity of the situation.

Here she was, standing in a quaint little kitchen with Kairi and Axel, making dinner, of all things. What made the whole thing even more hilarious was the fact that Axel had made the little kitchen himself, as well as the whole house attached. It struck her as so amusing that she began to giggle, and before long, she couldn't stop herself from laughing uproariously at the weirdness of it all.

Axel and Kairi turned around only briefly to see what was the matter with her and then turned back to their tasks.

"Is she all right?" Kairi asked, a little concerned.

"Are you kidding me? She's never all right."

Yuffie heard him, but she was laughing too hard to care.


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Let me apologize for the long wait on this next chapter. I know waits between updates is really far too long, but school has got me more restricted than a failed Houdini trick, not to mention that I've been really trying to focus on some of my original work, which has been sorely suffering because of my fanfiction and schoolwork. But this author note is to assure all of you that The Need to Know, despite long waits between updates, _will_ be finished, albeit slowly. So I hope you all stick with me. In the meantime, chapter five awaits.

-

During her second day in Axel's little world, Yuffie had her first lesson on darkness.

"Wakey, wakey, eggs 'n' bakey," Axel said into her ear.

Yuffie yawned, flung her arms into a stretch, and felt her hand connect with something solid and warm.

"Ow," Axel said flatly, rubbing the place on his chest where she had just smacked him.

"Whoops," she said, clearing the sleep from her eyes.

"Yeah, yeah, tell it to the judge, honey. Breakfast is ready. When I said eggs 'n' bakey, I meant it." Axel grabbed the covers over her, and in one quick movement, yanked them back, leaving her to shiver in the short pajamas she had borrowed from Kairi.

She was going to reply, no doubt with enormous wit, when the smell of bacon hit her nose, and what he had just said finally registered in her still sleep-fogged mind.

"Bacon?"

"Yes, Yuffie. Bacon. C'mon, get up, c'mon, you can do it!" he said, as if talking to a dog, his strange eyes twinkling madly.

"Ass," she griped as she dragged herself out of bed.

"Hee," he said dryly. She glared, and he added, "Haw."

He exited, and she followed him into the kitchen.

Kairi had already set the table and was eating her own breakfast. A glass of orange juice stood next to Yuffie's plate, and, in an uncharacteristic rush of emotion from the tough ninja, tears stung her eyes. She remembered this sort of thing from her childhood, before the Heartless had stolen everything from her.

"Thanks, Kairi," she said, clearing her throat. Axel had already plopped down in a chair and was digging in, mindless of the two of them.

"So, Yuffie, if you need to, you can borrow some of my clothes and take a shower after this," Kairi said. "Your clothes from before still have bloodstains on them. I'm not really sure if they're going to come out in the wash either…"

Yuffie looked up from her delicious breakfast. "Well, why can't Axel just _materialize_ me some clothes, since he made this whole freaking dimension?"

"Because," Axel replied, "it doesn't exactly work that way."

"Oh, gee, more rules. _Do_ tell me how it works then, Axel," Yuffie said exasperatedly.

He held his hands up defensively, eggs flying from his fork as he gestured. "Hey, don't get annoyed at me, missy. I don't make these rules."

"Okay, fine. I just want some clothes and a shower," Yuffie conceded, chewing her eggs.

"Sorry, Yuffie, but it's really hard for me to create things from nothing. To be honest, this place has been in existence since I escaped from the Organization."

"I thought you said you made it," Yuffie said, frowning at him.

"I did," he continued, talking with his mouth full. "But it's no longer new. Since the dimension has been established for a while now, I can't make just create matter out of thin air with my thoughts. Only a blank canvas can do that. Plus, it's a lot of work just creating things out of nothing."

"I thought you were used to that kind of thing."

"More or less. I haven't ever created anything this large scale before."

"Axel, don't talk with your mouth full. It's gross," Kairi admonished, pointing her fork at him sternly.

He glared at her, shoved a huge forkful of eggs into his mouth and chewed with his mouth wide open and pointed in her direction.

"Ewwww," she squealed in disgust, turning her eyes away from him. "You're a pig, Axel."

Yuffie had to struggle not to laugh at the two of them. Even after such a small amount of time in his company, she had learned that bossing Axel around would only go nowhere fast.

"So…how far _does_ this go on?" Yuffie asked.

"How far does what go on?" Axel replied.

"Don't answer my question with a question. I hate that. Squall does it all the time."

Axel cocked his head to the side. "Squall?"

"Uh, I mean…Leon. He hates it when I call him Squall."

Axel motioned for her to go on. "He's one of my friends. Good with computers and uses a gunblade."

"A gunblade? What the hell is a gunblade?"

"What it sounds like. A sword that shoots stuff."

"Oh. I guess that makes sense," he shrugged.

"You didn't answer my question, though," Yuffie pointed out.

"What? Oh, right. Eh, the fields go on for a good while, but then they stop."

"They stop? What do you mean they stop?"

"Exactly what I said. They stop."

"Uh…"

"Ah, crap, you'd have to see it. When you're done putzin' around, I'll show you. Assuming you're well enough, that is…"

Yuffie knew a challenge when she heard one. "Of course I'm ready, Axel. I'm _always_ ready."

"So I've noticed," he said into his plate.

"What's that supposed to mean?" she asked incredulously. When she received no answer except him looking at her from underneath his brows, she sighed and pushed her empty plate away.

"Never mind. I'm gonna go take a bath. I may be in there for a long time." She had just realized that she had not bathed since before meeting up with Saïx. She felt completely disgusting.

"Okay! I'll set some clothes out for you," Kairi called as she left the room.

"Thanks, Kairi," she replied absentmindedly.

-

When Yuffie exited the bathroom an hour later, she scurried down the hallway with nothing but a towel wrapped around her. She saw no sign of anyone, which was really only for the better. When she was inside her room and had closed the door, she turned around, leaned against it and sighed.

"Ah, ah, don't get too comfortable," Axel said from where he was sitting on her bed.

She had to stifle a scream of surprise. Ninjas were never surprised! Well, except when Axel was in her room.

"Why…" she started, gathering her wits, "are you in my room?"

"Why else would a man you barely know be in your room, waiting until you're half-naked and vulnerable?" he replied, rising from the bed and advancing on her.

"Don't answer my questions with questions," she retorted weakly, wondering how to react to his suddenly strange behavior.

"Why…" he said, very close to her face, his body an inch away from hers, "…not?"

"Because," she said, "it's _annoying_."

"How annoying?" he breathed into her ear.

"Very," she squeaked.

"Oh, well, then I guess you won't be needing these," he said brightly, stepping away from her and holding out his hands that had previously been behind his back. Dangling from his closed fists were various articles of clothing: a pair of denim shorts, a tank top, and, to her horror, a clean pair of red panties and a matching bra.

"Gimme those!" she screeched, making a grab for them. Axel pranced out of the way, impossibly nimble.

"My, my, these are some mighty racy undergarments you have here, Yuffie. I wonder, who are you wearing things like this for?"

"Where the _hell_ did you get those?"

"Hee, a little birdie delivered them to me," he informed her, whirling out of her quick grasp. Yuffie was faster than him by enough that, under normal conditions, she would be able to catch him, but clutching the slipping towel to herself was hindering her severely.

"AXEL!"

He leaped onto her bed, having thrown her shorts and top off into another area of the room, now only in possession of her embarrassing underwear. He dangled them in front of her, waiting for her to make a grab.

Surprising them both, she lunged into a flying tackle. She made contact and they both tumbled to the floor, landing hard in a heap.

Once they were settled on the wood, they stopped moving, both breathing heavily and bruised.

"Did you have to do that?" Axel asked after a few more moments of silence.

"Yes. Now, gimme my damn panties and get the fuck out of my room."

"Aww, do I have to?" he asked, grinning at her.

"Yes."

"Can I keep the bra then?"

"No."

"Fine. There's a bag on the bed full of clothes."

"Get out."

"I'm going, I'm going," Axel said, getting up and leaving the room.

Yuffie kicked the door shut behind him and locked it. She gathered up her discarded shorts and top and got dressed.

When she came back out, Axel was leaning against the hallway wall across from her door. "Eh, I suppose those clothes you got on aren't too far away from naked, so I'm satisfied for now."

"What?" she shrieked, flying at him and punching him in the chest.

"Ah, simmer down, hothead. I was just kiddin' around," Axel said, holding her wrists away from him and dodging her bony knees.

"Where'd you get a bag full of clothes of mine, anyway?" she asked, still trying to hit him a solid one in the crotch.

"Dropped in on your good friend Aerith, actually. She was really pleased to see me," he said between dodges.

"You're so full of yourself."

"And? Your point is?"

"Don't go through my clothes when I'm not there!"

"I just wanted to pick out a nice outfit for you," he protested, putting her in a headlock.

"You just wanted a peek at my unmentionables!" she yelled at him, attempting to stomp on his foot.

"Eh, you're right. I wasn't being truthful. I just wanted to see what kind o' undies you wear," he admitted. By that point, he had wrapped his arms and legs around her from behind and had her pinned in his grasp. Vying for a last-ditch effort to escape, she tried craning her neck around and licking his face, but he apparently had a rather flexible neck. He just held her more firmly and moved out of the way.

She sighed and went limp in his grasp.

"So you wanted to go see the end of this world right?" Axel said, leaning his head against the place between her shoulder blades in an entirely comfortable way. Yuffie found she didn't really mind the gesture.

"Yeah, sure, breakfast, panty-raid, end of the world. Normal day for Yuffie Kisaragi."

He released her and helped her to her feet, setting out for the door. Kairi was on the porch, carefully painting on her canvas again, staring out at the seemingly endless sea of flowers. Paint was all over her hands and some bits of yellow crusted strands of her auburn hair.

"Kairi, we're going to the end of the world. You interested?" Axel asked her.

"Nah, I'm gonna keep working on this."

Axel shrugged. "Suit yourself."

"When do you think you'll be back?" she asked, cocking her head to the side.

"Uh, I don't know…"

"Well, it's a bit late for lunch, but you could pack up some food for later, in case you get hungry," she suggested.

"Oh, yeah, good idea," Yuffie agreed. "Where d'ya keep your picnic baskets?"

Axel's house did not contain picnic baskets, so they made do with some bags full of food and drinks. Yuffie wasn't much for warm water, but they would make do.

-

"So…this is it, huh?"

"What do you mean, 'this is it?' It's the end of the damn world!"

"I'm not really impressed. It's kind of…not what I expected."

"It's the end of the world. And it's not what you expected."

"Sheesh, get some originality, Axel. Quit parroting me."

"I just…I go out of my way to help you pack a picnic dinner and then bring you to the end of the world, and you're…_unimpressed_." He stared at her in utter disbelief.

"Well…" she hedged, "yeah. That's about right."

"I'm sure that you are the worst date ever," he growled.

"Oh, so this is a date, huh? When did I ever agree to go on a date with you anyway?" Yuffie put her hands on her hips.

"You didn't, and this isn't a date. I was just saying, I'm sure that you're the worst date ever."

"Where did you draw _that_ conclusion, Great Detective Axel?"

"Well, if a guy goes out of his way to help fix dinner, to take you to see something spectacular and share in an interesting experience, and yet, you, the recipient of such careful ministrations, remain unimpressed."

"Yep. 'Cause I expected a little more than this."

At that point, they were standing at the edge of the world.

Stretching out before them was an endless black abyss that, despite its uniform color, despite there being no varying shades of black, seemed to swirl in a strange, enticing way. Yuffie was pretending to be unimpressed with the whole thing because the lure of the darkness scared her on a deep level. She had never seen anything like how the lush grasses and flowers gave way to a crumbling edge that descended into nothing. She was standing several yards away from it, for somewhere in the back of her mind, she was afraid that if she drew too close, she would never be able to move away again.

She flinched when she felt Axel's arms close around her from behind. He hooked his hands into the belt loops on her shorts.

He whispered into her ear, his breath hot, "You're afraid of it."

When she stiffened and tried to pull away from him, he merely tightened his grip. Fighting him, suddenly desperate to be far from him, to be anywhere but next to him, she snarled, "I'm not afraid of anything!"

He squeezed her tighter still, restricting her breath, hurting her. "You're hurting me," she wheezed, but he only held tightened his grip.

Out of oxygen and sensing defeat, she finally stopped struggling. When she had slackened in his arms, he moved them as a single unit toward the edge.

They stood on the crumbling end of the world and stared into the never-ending darkness, beckoning them with clever twists and turns.

For a long moment, neither of them said anything. Then, Axel, in a very quiet voice, said, "Everyone is afraid of something, Yuffie."

When he had dragged her back, away from the abyss and onto safe, solid ground once more, she wrenched herself out of his now loose grip and turned on him, slapping him hard across the face. Screaming unintelligibly, she beat against his chest with all of the force she possessed. No tears came from her eyes, but she continued to hit him until she was completely exhausted and had screamed herself hoarse.

"Are you done?" he asked flatly, sitting next to where she had slumped in the tall grass.

"I'm done."

"Mm," he hummed, having nothing really to say.

"Bastard."

"No mother, no father. Does that make me a bastard?"

"Fuck you."

"I guess I deserved that."

"That and a whole lot more," she said.

"Hungry?"

"Yeah. Hey, Axel?"

"Huh?"

"How come you never imagined this place with any freakin' trees?"

"I did. They're in the other direction."

"Wouldn't I be able to see them since it's so flat here?"

"Nah. I imagined some hills too."

"Well, aren't you the lovely artist."

He handed her a thick turkey sandwich, slathered with mayonnaise. Her stomach gave a loud rumble, and she took a huge bite out of it, savoring the meaty flavor.

"Say, Axel?"

"Yeah?" he said through a mouthful of macaroni salad.

"What the _fuck_ was that?" she yelled, almost throwing her sandwich down in disgust.

"Oh, what? You mean the part where I almost suffocated you or the part where I made you look into the abyss."

"All of it, you fucking asshole!"

"Right." He put his sandwich back on the plate and pushed it away, looking vaguely sick with either it or himself, she couldn't tell which. "I…don't know what that was."

"…you don't know."

"No."

"You'd better know in about two seconds."

"I don't know!" he shouted, whipping his head around to look her in the eyes with a gaze so intense that it stole her breath. "I don't know what it was! Don't say stupid things, Yuffie! The only people who ever say they're not afraid of anything are the people like…like Roxas, and look what happened to him. The people who say they're not afraid of anything…_they're_ the ones who get…taken by _that._ By the darkness."

She stared at him for a few moments as he panted and looked away from her, running his hands through his already wild hair.

"I don't like being told what I'm afraid of, Axel."

"I know."

"You don't like being told what you're afraid of either, Axel."

He did not respond.

"Do you?"

She was met with silence once more.

"You're afraid of that too, Axel. You're afraid of that abyss."

He nodded, still not looking at her.

"Know what else you're afraid of?"

He looked at her sharply, spearing her with his strange eyes.

"You're afraid of being alone. But you're afraid of being with anyone as well. You _like_ Kairi. You _like_ me. But you tell Kairi that her purpose is to lure Sora. When you sense my weak spots, you go at 'em like a dog. Know why? 'Cause you're afraid I'll know that you _want_ to be around me, you're afraid that I'll know that you need someone besides yourself."

He lunged for her, but she was too quick this time, too light on her feet, too small and slippery. She danced out of his reach as he jumped to his feet.

Despite herself, despite the fact that she could feel the sting of the acid in her words as they dropped from her lips, she continued. "I know what that's like, Axel. I don't like being told what I'm afraid of, and you don't like being told what you're afraid of. Especially since what you're afraid of is _me_."

She stopped evading him and waited for him to get close. When he did, she pushed forward, into his chest, and knocked them both into the cushion of the grass and flowers.

Lying against his chest, she listened for a heartbeat, wanting to prove him wrong above all things. No matter how hard she pressed her ear to his chest, however, no sound met her ears. There was no beat there to tell her that he was wrong about his missing heart, about his lack of emotions. She heard nothing.

He had not moved since they had hit the ground. The rumble of his voice tickled her cheek as it traveled through his chest and met her ears. "You're not going to hear anything, Yuffie. Didn't I tell you that already?"

He sounded resigned. Before she could respond, however, in a quick-as-a-flash motion, he flipped them around and pressed his own ear to her right breast. When she looked down and opened her mouth to protest, she stopped short at the look on his face.

His eyes were closed, his brow furrowed and his jaw tight. He seemed to be listening with not just his ears, but every particle of his being. He was poised, curled against her torso, stiff and elegant, a boney, black-clad man, closer to her heart than any person in her life had ever seemed to be.

What _was_ he?

She didn't know. She had been asking herself that question since the very first day she had met him, and yet she had no idea what the answer was still. He was a Nobody, that was true. He was supposed to be her enemy, that was also true. But what was he to _her_? She had no idea. No matter how hard she wondered and searched for the answer, it was not forthcoming.

His eyes opened suddenly, and for the second time that day, he put his face very close to hers.

"Don't ever say that again."

He didn't have to specify what. He meant all of it. She nodded, entirely serious.

"I'm so—"

"No, don't apologize. All of it…what you said…" He swallowed audibly, pressing his forehead to hers and getting so close to her that his eyes went out of focus in her line of sight. "It was all true. Don't apologize."

"Okay."

"Just don't you ever say anything like that again."

"Okay."

"Wanna see some trees?"

"Sure."

Axel helped her up, and they left everything where it was—the bags, the sandwiches, everything, completely forgotten. They honestly did not care.

They walked for a while, and Yuffie vaguely registered that the sun was descending, becoming orange and then red on the horizon, but she let Axel lead her.

The terrain became rougher after a while, with little pits and holes in the earth, dips hidden beneath the grass. Then the unevenness got more drastic and morphed into the beginnings of hills, and hidden in those hills was a copse of lush trees. Inside, in the rays of the fading sun, it was beautiful.

But they were apparently not there yet because Axel kept leading her, deeper and deeper into the trees, until she heard a sound that was vaguely familiar to her ears. A clean, sharp scent hit her nostrils and they stepped around some brush onto a scene unlike any she had witnessed before.

A stream curled its way through the trees, widening further down the way, pooling in places and creating little waterfalls as it went through changes in the level of the terrain. The air was cooler there. After all the walking they had done, Yuffie thought a dip in the water would be just the thing. Without bothering to wait on Axel or even let him know of her intentions, she shucked her shoes, her socks and her shirt, leaving her in her shorts and her red bra. Then she started running. When she reached one of the deeper-looking pools, she took a flying leap and landed with a humongous splash in the water.

It was chilly, but Yuffie didn't care. She swam around, sucked in a bunch of water and spat it out in a great spout.

"Come on, Axel," she yelled to him.

He approached cautiously.

"Isn't it cold?" he asked, sounding rather girlish.

"Bah, you wuss."

"Fine."

Axel unzipped his trench coat, and before Yuffie could ask what the hell he was doing, he dropped it to the ground, shed the shirt underneath it, leaving him bare-chested. He shucked his boots and socks as well and leaped in, splashing her with the wave he created.

"Hey!" she yelled at him when he surfaced, then splashed him in the face. His sopping wet hair did not even seem to droop under the weight of the water, while hers stuck to her face and made her look like a drowned rat. She was jealous at the way his seemed to just shake the moisture off and stand proudly.

"How come you look so good all the time?" she asked petulantly, glaring at him and crossing her arms over her chest.

"Some people are born with talents like that, you know," he said, smirking at her. She pouted some more, turning away from him, so he grabbed her and pulled her against his rather bare chest.

"Don't be that way, Yuffie. Not everyone can look good all of the time."

"Oh, shut up, you idiot."

"It's fortunate that you are one of the ones who manage to look good all the time though, isn't it?" he said smoothly, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah, yeah, tell it to the judge," she said, turning his words from earlier in the day back on him.

He jumped on her and dunked her. She squealed.

-

Later, dry, lying in the grasses outside the forest again, with the moon shining down on them merrily and the warm air playing over their skin, Axel remarked to her, "I don't feel like going back to the house."

"Won't Kairi be worried?"

"Nah. She knows there's nothing here that can get to us."

"But didn't you say you were pretty much waiting on Sora to get here?"

"I'm quite positive that won't be for a long time yet."

"You can't possibly _know_—"

"Let's just sleep here."

Yuffie mulled over his words for only a bit before she rolled over and into his side. He had covered himself with his jacket, so he shared it with her, wrapping them both in it.

"Didn't realize it was big enough to go over both of us," Yuffie said.

"The material's rather flexible. Sheesh, you should've seen the way it fit Lexaeus."

"Lexaeus?"

"Eh, I'll tell you later."

She rested her head on his shoulder, knowing she would be putting his arm to sleep, but not really giving a damn. They would deal with that in the morning.

They would deal with everything in the morning.


	6. Chapter 6

_A/N: This may seem like a filler chapter, but I deem this a very important chapter that has to do with character development and the passage of time, so please enjoy as I write what I love most about this story: a lot of dialogue._

_By the way, this chapter probably seems unbearably cutesy and fluffy, which is usually not my thing. Don't worry, readers! It's _still_ not my thing. As some of you may have surmised, the happy times will not last. BRING ON THE PAIN._

_Also, if Kingdom Hearts worlds have computers and technology like that, wouldn't they have televisions? I just assumed…_

-

"Axel, why are you always in my room when I wake up?" Yuffie asked one morning, upon rolling over and finding him leaning over her, watching her in a rather creepy manner.

"'Cause I think you're cute when you're sleeping," he replied unashamedly.

"You…think I'm cute…when I'm sleeping," Yuffie repeated flatly.

"Yes."

"Why?"

"'Cause it's the only time I ever catch you _not_ screaming at me or throwing stuff at me or hitting me or just generally being a harpy."

"Ohh, you—" Yuffie was cut off as she attempted to leap out of the bed and grab him, but only ended up getting herself tangled in the sheets and falling to the floor heavily.

"Somebody needs coffee," Axel said in a singsong voice as he practically skipped out of the room.

Yuffie grumbled, disengaged herself from the covers, and followed him into the kitchen for breakfast.

-

"I'm bored," Yuffie said, perusing the bookcase. "How come you don't got a television here, Axel?"

"Because you don't get any stations in a pocket dimension where there aren't any stations transmitting radio waves to receive. That's why," Axel said, sounding just as bored as she was.

"So, technically, in order to make T.V. stations, we'd have to broadcast it ourselves," she ventured.

"Yeah, and unless you want me doing Happy Time Puppet Hour, then that's probably not an option."

"There is something very disturbing about the image of you playing with puppets."

Axel grinned at her, showing his teeth in a way that reminded her of a shark.

"Don't do that!" she snapped, glaring at him.

"Don't do what?" he replied innocently, fluttering his eyelashes.

"Never mind," Yuffie sighed.

-

"I'm bored," Yuffie said to Axel a few days later.

"You're always bored, apparently."

"Let's do something."

"Okay, what do you want to do?" Axel asked her, lifting an eyebrow.

"Well, duh," Yuffie said.

"What do you mean, duh? I asked you a question. What do you want to do?"

"And I said duh because if I knew what I wanted to do, I wouldn't be bored, now would I?" she replied matter-of-factly, crossing her arms over her chest and giving him a look.

"Then don't tell me you're bored if you have no idea what you want to do. If you're bored, then that's your problem, sweetcakes." Axel waved a dismissing hand at her and continued to loll about, taking up the whole couch.

"Sheesh, you act like you own the place."

"I _do_ own the place."

"…"

"Yeah, great comeback, Yuffie. An endless spring of wit, that's you."

"Well, you don't own the place," she said.

"Uh, technically, I do."

"Nuh-uh."

"Says who then?"

"Says me."

"And who gave you the authority to say that I don't own the house I created?" Axel asked, clearly bored with her.

"God."

"What god?"

"Well, mine of course."

"And who is this 'God'?"

"Me, dummy."

"Prove it."

"All right, how?"

"Tell me what I'm thinking right now."

"You're thinking that I'm stupid."

"But I think that _all_ the time. It doesn't take omniscience to guess that one."

Yuffie snarled and pounced on him, wiggling her fingers under his armpits. He tried to keep a straight face, but after a few moments burst into uncontrollable laughter.

"Okay! Okay, uncle! I give, aaah!"

Yuffie released him, and he laid there on the couch, his body going into little spasms of giggles as he tried to catch his breath.

"Sheesh, I didn't even actually know you were ticklish. I just wanted to see if that would work."

"Yeah, well, I am, and it did, and don't ever do it again," Axel said, panting but still managing to sound cranky.

"You don't want me to do it again," Yuffie said with a strange sort of tone to her voice.

"No."

"Never again?"

"No," Axel said, cottoning on to her tone of voice. "Yuffie, don't you do it. Don't you dare."

"I don't know what you're talking about," she replied, smiling benignly. At that, she got up and left him to ponder when she would strike next.

-

"Um, Axel, you've been a bit, er…jumpy lately," Kairi said over dinner a week later. "Are you okay?"

"Fine, fine, perfectly fine," he said irritably, throwing his hands into the air and almost slinging meatloaf on Yuffie and Kairi.

"Are you _sure_ you're okay?"

"He's definitely _not _okay," said Yuffie, smirking evilly at him over her mashed potatoes.

"He just won't admit that he's _scared_."

"Scared? What is he scared of?" Kairi asked, cocking her head at him.

"Me," she replied, cackling with her mouth full.

"Yuffie, that's disgusting! Swallow your food," Kairi admonished, pointing a fork at her reproachfully.

Yuffie merely turned her head toward Kairi and chewed noisily with her mouth open. Kairi cringed but refrained from saying anything more.

-

"Hey, Kairi?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm bored."

"I know."

"How do you know that?" Yuffie asked, staring at her, wide-eyed.

"This the fifth time you've said it."

"Oh." Yuffie blinked.

"This is the fifth time you've said it in the past fifteen minutes actually."

"Really?"

"Really. Do you even realize you're saying it anymore?"

"Nope. Don't even remember saying it more than once."

"So go do something if you're bored."

"But there's nothing to do."

"Go paint."

"Don't got no paints."

"I do. There's blank canvas and paint and everything else you'll need in my room. Go get it."

"Okay. Thanks, Kairi."

-

Yuffie stared at the blank canvas on the easel in front of her. She had the tip of her tongue between her front teeth, and she had been staring at the canvas for the past ten minutes, a dripping paintbrush in her hands, unmoving.

Slowly, she moved the brush forward and made a mark, with red paint, on the stretched cloth.

"What's that?"

Yuffie whirled around, jabbing wildly with her brush. Axel just managed to dodge out of her way in time to avoid getting a face full of red paint.

"Don't sneak up on me like that," Yuffie yelled at him, flinging paint as she gestured with the palette in her other hand.

"Fine. So what are you doing?"

"None of your business, _sir_," she said, turning her pert nose up at him.

"Tell me," he ordered.

"No. Now leave me alone to work in peace."

"Teeeell meee," he wheedled.

"No. Now go away!"

"I will if you tell me what you're doing," he said.

Yuffie threw the palette and her brush down and jumped on him, knocking him to the hard wood of the porch and tickling him mercilessly. He laughed and laughed, unable to stop himself, and finally, when he was gasping for breath, he cried, "I give up! All right! I'll leave you alone!"

Yuffie got off of him without another word, dusted her hands together, picked up her paintbrush, and turned away from him. She heard him leave soon afterward.

-

Kairi came upon her several days later to find that she was working on the painting again.

"Uh, Yuffie," she ventured, hesitating.

Yuffie turned around and looked at Kairi. She had blue paint at the corner of one eye and there was bright green paint smeared across her forehead and chin.

"Yeah?" she prompted.

"What…uh…what is that?"

"You mean you can't tell?" Yuffie asked, giving Kairi a look like she was the stupidest person ever born.

"Uh, well, it looks like…"

"It looks like shit, doesn't it?" Yuffie's face fell.

"No, no! Just, give me a hint here."

"Okay!" she said, excited to be showing off her masterpiece. "It's someone you know."

"Er…is it…" Kairi squinted and turned her head to a painful angle. "…Axel?"

"Yeah! What clued you in?"

"The, uh, the red hair," she said.

Yuffie nodded, biting her lip. "Yeah, that's what I'm most proud of."

Kairi stared at the mass of red triangles that were supposed to be Axel's hair. Underneath that was a vaguely brownish-pinkish blob with two green, lopsided splotches placed around the middle of the brownish-pinkish blob. There were two black spots underneath the two green splotches and there was a large black patch underneath all of that. An angry red slash marked where Kairi supposed Axel's mouth should have been.

"So, I guess I'll leave you to that and check out the finished product later, huh?" Kairi said.

"Yeah, yeah, I really don't want Axel to see until I'm done though."

"Right, I'll keep him distracted. Somehow."

"Thanks, Kairi, you're a pal."

-

"My masterpiece is finished!" Yuffie announced, bursting into the living room where Axel was reading a comic book and Kairi had a huge manuscript in her hands.

"You have a masterpiece?" Axel asked, disinterested.

"Yes. And it's wonderful," Yuffie shot back.

"'Kay."

"You're not interested in seeing it at all?" she asked.

"Nope."

"Axel!"

"Fine, fine."

Yuffie dashed out of the room, and a few seconds later, crashed back in through the door, holding the canvas with the "portrait" of Axel on it.

"Ta-da!"

"What the _hell_ is _that_?" Axel asked, his mouth dropping open. Kairi winced as Yuffie's face turned stony.

"It's you, dumbass."

"I think it's wonderful, Yuffie!" Kairi proclaimed, attempting to cut off any ensuing arguments.

"That's…me?" Axel looked stunned.

"Yes."

"That is how you see me?"

"Of course! Isn't it great?" Yuffie asked, a dangerous note to her voice.

"If that's how you see me, it's no wonder you act like you do."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Yuffie squawked.

"It means that that painting is ugly and that you are certainly no artist, madam."  
Yuffie huffed and stomped out of the room, furious with him for spitting on all of her hard work. Sure, she was not the greatest painter ever, but she _had_ worked really hard on it. The least he could do was show some gratitude since she had thought of him.

-

"Kairi, Yuffie's still not talking to me."

Kairi sighed. She had foreseen this. Axel could not be trusted to solve his own problems, especially when it came to a girl like Yuffie.

"Of course she's not talking to you, dummy. You acted like a royal jerk."

"What? Should I have lied to her about how that painting looked? I wasn't about to say it looked wonderful just because she made it. I mean, aren't people supposed to tell the truth and stuff?" Axel was genuinely confused.

"You really don't know what you're supposed to do with this kind of stuff?"

"Well, I guess I don't!" he yelled, frustrated.

"You tell her thanks for thinking about you, Axel. Even if the picture wasn't that good, at least she was thinking about you. Did you think of it that way?"

He stared at her, dumbstruck. "Oh."

"So now what are you going to do, Axel?"

"Er…"

"You're gonna go apologize to her, duh."

"Oh."

"So go do it!"

"Okay, okay, I'm going."

-

"Er, Yuffie." Axel knocked on her door. "Yuffie?" No answer. "C'mon, Yuffie, I want to talk to you." Still no answer. "Open up the door or I'll bust it down."

Kairi walked around the corner, crossed her arms, and tapped her foot at him.

"_What_?" he snapped.

"That is not how you do it."

"Well, how do you do it then, Miss Priss?"

"Like this," Kairi said, walking up to Yuffie's bedroom door. "Yuffie? Jerkface is going to grovel and apologize and kiss your feet. You might want to let him in. Also, if you have a camera, now would be a good time to turn it on so you can savor this moment for the rest of your life, okay?"

Almost before Kairi had even finished speaking, the door swung open and Yuffie's hand shot out and dragged Axel in by the collar. Kairi shook her head and went into the kitchen to make some tea. She had a feeling Axel would need it.

-

Axel stomped into the kitchen and made as much noise sitting down as he could manage without hurting himself in the process.

Kairi looked at him. "I take it you did it wrong then."

"Did it wrong!" he exclaimed.

"Yep. I knew you would."

"Knew I would!"

"That's what I said."

Axel made an inarticulate noise of fury and snatched the cup of tea Kairi offered to him.

"I did what you said! I apologized for being a jerk!"

"What, exactly, did you say?"

"I told her I was sorry that I told her the truth and that next time, I'd lie," he replied, throwing the sizzling hot tea back like whiskey.

Kairi winced. "Uh, it's a little hot." Axel just looked at her.

She shrugged. "Okay…well, you did it wrong."

"Did it wrong!"

"Can you stop doing that? Yes, you did it wrong, like I knew you would, so here's what you have to do next. Apologizing for being a jerk is a step-by-step, tedious process."

"This is _not_ worth it."

"Have you even kissed Yuffie yet?"

"What?" He stared at her, gobsmacked. "What are you even talking about, Kairi? I thought we were talking about apologizing and how I did it wrong."

"You _obviously_ like her, Axel. And you're an idiot if you don't know she likes you back. Otherwise she wouldn't have cared when you said her painting was crap."

"I…you…who…"

"You haven't even kissed her." Kairi stared at him like he was crazy. "No wonder she's so cranky."

"Whuh…bluh…"

"How long has she been here now? Three weeks? How long have you known her now? I've been hearing about Yuffie for more than a few months now…"

Axel stared at her, openmouthed.

"Yeah, you're pretty lame for this, Axel. Pret-ty lame."

Axel got up without another word and left the room. Kairi shook her head once more.

-

The next day, Axel barged into Kairi's room while she was sleeping, yelling about something.

"What in the world…?"

"I need you to tell me what I have to do to get Yuffie to talk to me again!"

"All right, you need to lavish her with a gift, but it has to be an appropriate thing for the occasion," Kairi told him, yawning. She had expected him sometime that day, but not quite this early in the morning.

"What's appropriate for the occasion?"

"I dunno. You figure it out."

"You mean that's all you've got for me?" he shouted, looking desperate.

"If you figure this out for yourself, it will be that much better, in Yuffie's opinion. Trust me, Axel."

"Fine."

Axel left, and Kairi groaned, rolled over, and shoved her head under the pillow for a couple more hours of sleep.

-

Axel staggered into the living room two days later with something square in his arms.

"Um," Kairi said, lifting an eyebrow, "what is that?"

"This," he replied, sounding entirely too pleased with himself, "is what's going to make Yuffie talk to me."

"…really."

"Really," he nodded to himself, setting it against the wall. "Hey, Kairi, can I borrow your paints and brushes?"

Kairi hesitated, then shrugged to herself, not really sure what he was up to, but not really sure she cared all that much anymore. He could not possibly get himself in more trouble with Yuffie unless he killed a puppy in front of her or something.

"Sure."

"Thanks," he said excitedly, practically scurrying out of the room in his hurry.

-

Over the next few days, Kairi caught Axel working on something in his room, in secret, but she did not investigate. She had a funny feeling she knew what he was doing.

"Is Axel still in his room?" Yuffie asked, slipping around the corner, looking cautious.

"Yep."

"What's he _doing_ in there?"

"I think he's working on something to apologize to you," Kairi said, idly flipping through the novel she had been reading in lieu of painting.

"What a dork," Yuffie chirped, flopping down on the couch next to Kairi.

"Well, he is trying to apologize. He doesn't want you to be mad at him anymore."  
Yuffie rolled her eyes. "I'm not even mad at him anymore, sheesh. I can't hold a grudge for more than a few hours."

"You're _not_ mad at him?" Kairi repeated, gawping at her.

"Nope!" She grinned. "I'm just a good actor is all."

"Why would you pretend to be mad at him then?" Kairi asked, still confused.

"Because I love making him uncomfortable."

"Why?"

"Because he's _always_ got the upper hand! Don't you ever just wanna wipe that smug look off his face?"

Kairi pondered this. "You're right."

Yuffie nodded to herself. "'Course I am."

"Isn't it boring in your room?"

Yuffie sighed dramatically and put a fluttering hand to her forehead. "Oh, god, it's _awful_."

"What do you do in there all day?"

"Mostly exercise. Practice my fighting style. That sort of thing."

"Kairi!" Axel yelled, his voice getting closer. "I'm done with it! Come and see!"

Yuffie jumped up and in a series of very complicated acrobatic movements, flung herself out the front door just as Axel turned the corner from the hallway to the living room.

He blinked for a moment, then said, "Did I just see…?"

Kairi looked at him blankly.

"Never mind," he said, shaking his head. "Do you want to see what I've done?"

"I'm not sure. What _have_ you done, Axel?"

He gestured for her to come to his room, so she followed him down the short hallway and into his sparse bedroom. Her eyes fell on the canvas propped against the wall.

"Uh, so that's what you were carrying when—"

"Yep."

Kairi continued to take in the whole painting. "That's amazing, Axel. I never knew you were an artist…"

"I'm not. Or at least, I never thought I was. Maybe my Other was? I don't know. I've never tried it before. What do you think?"

"With some practice, Axel, you could be _great_." Kairi was still staring at the painting.

He had rendered a picture of him and Yuffie, sitting beside a stream that was wending its way through thick trees. Sunlight reflected off the water. The colors were bright and cheerful with careful blending. All of the landscape and proportions could use some practice, but what caught Kairi's eyes was the image of Yuffie.

She was lovingly rendered, down to the very last hair on her head. Axel had captured her very essence—from the laughter in her gray eyes to the dark brown highlights in her sun-kissed hair.

"You think it'll work?"

Kairi pondered what Yuffie had said just minutes before about not really being mad at Axel and swallowed her smile, instead choosing to nod seriously and say, "If this doesn't, I don't know _what_ will."

-

Yuffie had successfully reentered her room when Axel knocked on her door. She sighed, resolving that unless Axel did something entirely stupid, she would let him apologize and get on with her life. She liked messing with his mind, but she was tired of playing games.

"Come in," she called.

Axel sidled into the doorway, struggling to keep something hidden behind his back. Whatever it was, it was really too large to stay hidden there.

"I just wanted to bring you something that I thought you might like," he said, trying to seem casual.

"Yes?" Yuffie asked coldly, trying not to grin at his act.

"I whipped this up in my spare time," he said to her, pulling out a square canvas from behind his back. She gasped.

"Axel," she stuttered out, "it's beautiful."

"You like it?"

"Of course I like it!" she said, staring at him in wonder.

"I wanted to say I was sorry for insulting your painting, and to _really_ apologize, I made this for you."

"Thank you," she said faintly, still staring at it.

"Am I forgiven?" he said slowly.

There was a pause, but before he could leave the room in defeat, he found himself with his arms full of happy ninja.

"Thankyouthankyouthankyou!" she gasped, nuzzling her face into his chest.

"I'm glad you like it," he wheezed, having the breath squeezed out of him.

"I love it!" she squealed. "Is it mine to keep? Really?"

"Yes. Yours to keep."

"You made this _for me_?"

"Yes. All for you."

He looked into her eyes as she grinned at him, and for some reason he could not fathom, found himself sinking to his knees. He smiled back at her as he sat fully on the floor with her in his lap.

"All for you," he said again.


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: _It occurs to me that Axel's been getting kind of sappy and icky these past few chapters, and as we all know, he _does_ have the potential to do that (I mean jeez lookit the way he moons over Roxas, if I were at all interested in homo-erotic fantasies of blondes and redheads, I'd be all over that like white on rye), so I wanted to assure you all, anyone who's interested, that is, that I will be swinging him back towards awesomeness very, very soon. In fact, it should happen in this chapter._

_By the way, I've thought and thought and thought about this since the beginning of Yuffie arriving in Axel's pocket dimension. I've worked this chapter out so that it completely fits with the chronological sequence of events of when Sora is in Hollow Bastion and he has to fight the thousand Heartless._

_**IMPORTANT**__: See if you spot where I have incorporated the cut scenes from the Show Down at Hollow Bastion into the ending parts of this chapter. I apologize for having to rewrite dialogue that I'm sure you've all read or heard or even played before, but it's necessary for this, I swear. Also, I made a serious mistake in the first chapter, thinking that Sora knew Axel's name before Hollow Bastion. I'm going to go back and edit chapter one to fit with the canon. Sorry about that, everyone—I guess it's part of having a work in progress._

_Lucky number seven, comin' right up._

-

"Picnic?" Axel asked suddenly.

Yuffie was standing on her head in the corner of the room, getting steadily redder in the face as she did so. He figured it was once again time to get out of the house. After two months of three people living in one house with no other civilization or contact with other worlds, the same quarters over and over again could really get tiring.

Yuffie looked at Axel and lifted her eyebrows. Or rather, lowered them, considering she was upside down. He lifted his hands in an "I-Don't-Know" sort of gesture.

Yuffie asked, "You want to go on a picnic?"

"That's kind of why I asked," he said slowly. "Is there something about that suggestion that you object to?"

"I dunno, it's just…you don't seem like much of a picnicking kind of guy."

"What about me indicates that I'm not a picnicking guy?" he asked curiously.

"The all black clothing—"

"Look, this thing is fireproof, and I don't know what you're thinking, but it's not exactly easy to find things that are fireproof like this."

"Yes, but, you wear the same thing every day, and it's hot as hell outside—"

"I like warm weather," he protested. "And I _don't_ wear the same thing every day! I have about five of these…"

"Also, you're so skinny that I sometimes wonder if you're eating at all."

"You've seen me eat, stupid."

"Well, yeah, but that doesn't mean there's not some sort of black hole in your esophagus where all the food goes and really, you're just sustained off of a diet of lighter fluid and smoke or something."

"Where the _hell_ do you come up with this stuff?" he asked her, face contorted in disbelief.

"Jeez, Axel, it's powers of observation. Don't you have them?" she asked sneeringly. At this point, she was able to look down her nose at him, having righted herself form her upside-down position.

"Look, if you don't want to go on a frikkin' picnic with me, then fine, we won't go on—"

"Yeah, yeah, don't get your panties in a wad, ya woman." She waved a hand in the air dismissively as she went into the other room. "I'll go tell Kairi and get the picnic basket."

"I'll go make some—"

"Sandwiches."

"Why sandwiches?" he called after her.

"Because you burn everything else, Charred Doofus," she yelled from down the hall.

"Don't call me that," he shouted back.

-

Yuffie lay sprawled in the grass, arms and legs spread-eagle, watching the green stalks sway above her. A light breeze tousled the fine hairs resting on her forehead and gently wafted Axel's subtle smell toward her. He was sitting up next to her, his elbows resting on his knees. He had the end of a stalk of grass in his mouth, and he was chewing on it pensively.

She studied him out of the corner of her eye, memorizing his profile, the sharp angles and planes of his face. She drank in the color contrasts on his person, the red in his hair clashing interestingly with aquamarine of his eyes. She realized that she was studying his eye color because he was staring at her out of the corner of his eye.

"What?" he asked, breaking the silence.

"Shh, don't break the peace," Yuffie said. "You're so much more attractive when your mouth is closed."

"You think I'm attractive?" he asked slyly.

"Now you're just fishing for compliments."

"I don't know what you mean," he said, the corner of his mouth twitching.

"Besides, I said you're attractive when you're _quiet_," she said, "which is practically never."

"You're not exactly quiet yourself, y'know," he scoffed.

"Never said I was. You got a problem with it, bub?"

"Nope. I think you're attractive when you talk," he said.

"Yeah, well, I—wait, what?"

"Which is pretty much all the time," he said offhand. "And I think you're attractive when you're _not_ talking," he added, looking at her in a way that made her blood rush. "Which is the rest of the time."

She swallowed, her mouth suddenly dry. "Axel…"

"Yeah?"

"Let's go swimming."

"I dunno," he said, looking up at the sky. "It looks like it might rain."

In fact, the previously partly cloudy sky had darkened to a slightly angry hue off in the distance. Ominous clouds hung heavy on the horizon, boding no good for any further outdoor activities.

"So what?" Yuffie said. "I'm not gonna let a little rain stop me from swimming. Besides, it's hot as hell here, and we're not that far from the creek, are we?"

"I can see the hills from here."

"Good, I feel like taking a dip."

They walked and walked some more, and after some sweating, some weaving through the woods, and some conversation, they reached their destination.

Axel bent over, took off his boots, and he was just about to lift his shirt above his head when Yuffie tackled him, sending them both flying into the cool water. Axel struggled for a moment, then broke back to the surface, spitting water.

He glared at her when she came up, laughing like a loon. "How the hell do you sneak up on me like that?" he growled.

Once she had stopped laughing, she replied, "I'm a ninja, silly. Haven't I ever told you that? The Great Ninja Yuffie!" She attempted to strike a pose, but only ended up tipping over and going under the water again.

"Is that some sort of title or something? Or do you just call yourself that?"

"No!" she pouted. "Plenty of people call me that."

"Name one."

"Er…"

"That's what I thought."

"Well, I _am_ a ninja," she protested, crossing her arms over her chest.

"I believe I've heard that term before," he admitted, "but I'm not quite sure what it is."

"I've been trained in martial arts since I was really little," she said.

"Martial arts?"

"Boy, you really are clueless and uncultured, Axel. Martial arts—it's a style of fighting. My teacher came from the Land of Dragons. Ever been there?"

"I may have at some point," he said, looking thoughtful. "Is that where you learned that move?"

"Which move? The one I used on the Heartless when I found you all half-dead and swimming in your own blood?"

"Yep."

"That's called All Creation, and it's my ultimate technique. I, uh, I'm not very good at it."

"Why not?"

"Well, it takes a really long time to master, and even though my teacher told me I'm way ahead of my time, All Creation isn't something you can just get control over after a few uses."

"I see."

"Well, anyway, ninjas are trained in subtlety and subterfuge," she informed him. "They are required to be agile, light on their feet, sneaky, and speedy."

"You? All of those things?"

"You didn't think I pulled those fighting skills out of my _ass_, did you?"

"I didn't think there was enough room in your ass for fighting skills."

"Well, there isn't, therefore, I did not pull them out of my ass."

Axel waded over to the bank and removed his shirt, grimacing at the sopping wet fabric. "Yuffie, did you have to do that? Now I gotta wait for this shirt to—"

He stopped talking, whirling around and catching Yuffie in mid-air above his head. She had been attempting to leap onto his head and dunk him under the water.

"Nice try, woman."

"I'll get you yet, my pretty."

-

They hadn't yet had their fill of swimming when the sky finally let loose its rage and started to pour rain. Fat drops hit them and disturbed the surface of the water. Though they were already wet, and though it was hot, they were chilled by the cold rain, so they decided it was time to go back to the house.

Axel had not noticed that he had gotten ahead of Yuffie by a few yards until he heard her say "Axel" in a strangled sort of voice.

"What?" He turned around, not expecting what he saw.

"Hello, Axel," Saïx said, tightening the grip he had on Yuffie's throat.

"Let me go, you bastard," she said hoarsely, kicking and writhing. Saïx had one arm wrapped around her waist, pinning her arms to her sides and anchoring her in place, while his other hand was cruelly squeezing her neck.

"No, no," he said. "I don't think so. Quit struggling or I'll kill you."

She jerked even harder in his arms. Axel saw Saïx's yellow eyes glitter in that particular way. Axel had seen this several times, and he knew just what it meant.

"Yuffie!" Axel barked sharply. She took one look at him and fell still, her eyes directed at Saïx and burning with hatred.

"Very good," said Saïx. "Now, we're going to walk inside that quaint—" here he paused to sneer in Axel's direction, "—little house over there." He shifted his grip to the back of Yuffie's neck, making sure to give her an extra-hard squeeze to ensure she got the message as he said, "If you try anything, I'll kill you."

"He's serious, Yuffie. Don't try anything," Axel said.

"Lead the way, old friend," Saïx said.

Axel clenched his fists and walked up into the house, stepping into the living room. Saïx followed shortly afterward, Yuffie still captive under his hand.

"Turn on the lights," Saïx instructed, nodding toward the switch.

In a split second, Axel noticed two things. First, he noticed that when he had opened the front door, it had swung backward but had not come to rest against the wall. It had drifted to a gentle stop a few feet away from the wall. Second, Yuffie's large shuriken was leaning against a leg of the coffee table with a polishing rag draped across one of its blades.

Without blinking or changing his expression, Axel flipped on the lights.

Then all hell broke loose.

Kairi, with a screeching noise, burst out from where she had been standing between the front door and the wall, wielding a kitchen knife and pinwheeling towards Saïx. This distracted him long enough for Yuffie to jerk toward him. He blocked, but she shifted gears, twisting out of his grasp and somersaulting over to her weapon. Saïx was briefly preoccupied with Kairi, but wasted only a moment on that, batting the knife out of her grasp with one hand and sending her flying against the wall with the other. She cried out as she hit with a sickening thud and then slid to the ground, unmoving.

By this time, Yuffie had had all the opportunity she needed to grab her shuriken, flick three small throwing stars at Saïx, and vault toward him.

Saïx snarled savagely as he dodged two of the three stars, but still managed to get hit by the third. He was having trouble maneuvering in the small space of the house. Yuffie roundhouse punched him and landed the hit, but Saïx didn't even flinch. Before she could do anything else, he sprinted out the door.

During all this, Axel had materialized his chakrams and checked on Kairi, confident that Yuffie could handle Saïx for a couple of minutes alone. He knew when he saw Saïx back out the door, however, that the other Nobody was getting into the open to make more room for his massive claymore.

Worried about Kairi and knowing there was no way they could beat Saïx, Axel hefted the unconscious girl onto his shoulders. He knew the only way they would get away without Saïx killing them was to use the dark portals.

Meanwhile, Yuffie was using every trick in her book to beat Saïx. And she _did_ have a book of tricks.

She knew that she needed to get Saïx's weapon away from him. Even though all these weeks of exercise in lieu of anything better to do were working to her advantage, she noticed that Axel was right—the last time she had beaten Saïx had been a fluke. He was much stronger than her, and even after only a few moments of fighting him, she could feel her arms shaking each time his claymore hit her shuriken.

"Yuffie!" she heard Axel yell. She didn't look. She couldn't look. There was no way she was going to let Saïx get the advantage over her.

"Don't distract me, Axel!" she shouted, parrying a blow from Saïx's claymore. She was working on an important move, and she needed to concentrate.

Watching from the sidelines, Axel knew there was no way he'd be able to pause their battle long enough to swoop in and transport himself and Yuffie to a safer location. He would have to wait and see if he could jump in and snatch her up somehow.

Yuffie was trying very hard to get in closer to Saïx, but his massive weapon was making it sort of difficult for her. She suddenly got an idea, and she wasn't sure if it would work, but she was going to try it anyway.

She backed up several yards away from him, and she started to do what she did best. She talked.

"Hey, Saïx, who's your hairdresser?" she called to him. His expression did not change as he rushed her. That was when she noticed that despite his strength, despite the fact that he was the one with the advantage this time, she was _still_ the faster of the two of them.

"Aw, whatsamatter? Can't catch me, elf-boy? Where'd ya get those pointy ears anyway? I've never seen anything like that. Do those occur naturally? Whaddaya think, Axel? Should I get me some? Think they'd make me look more distinguished?" She tucked her hair behind her ears and seemed to contemplate it, but backflipped out of the way as Saïx swung his claymore toward her once more.

Axel couldn't believe what he was seeing and hearing. Yuffie was turning a life-threatening situation into a ten-year-old's insult fest. If she kept goofing off like that, Saïx would seize an opening and kill her. Axel knew the man wouldn't hesitate.

However, Axel also knew that Yuffie had a certain advantage. Saïx was not called the Luna Diviner for no reason. He drew much of his power from the moon, and since it was only around four o'clock in the afternoon, it was overcast, and it was pouring rain, Saïx had no way to draw on that strength. Too bad he had enough strength to kill Yuffie without the moon.

"Jeez, you're slow!" Yuffie taunted, wiggling her rear end at Saïx from a not-so-safe distance. "My grandma could outrun you. And she's been dead for ten years!"

"Yuffie!" Axel yelled. "What the hell are you doing?"

"Chill out, Axel, and don't throw off my game! I'm in the zone, I've got this covered, I'm on top of the world!"

Axel winced as she just barely escaped having her stomach slashed wide open by one of the wicked-looking blades on Saïx's claymore. She cartwheeled to the left and then somersaulted to the right, a blur of acrobatics and physics-defying stunts. The only person that Axel could think of to compare to that was Xigbar, and he sort of didn't count because he could manipulate time and space. Yuffie just did it naturally.

What Axel didn't know was that Yuffie was taunting Saïx in order to buy herself some time and possibly distract him. She was not counting too hard on distracting him, but buying herself some time was working. By going on the defensive, she was saving energy to put into her best attack—All Creation. He had never seen her use it, and all she needed to do was get his weapon away from him long enough to assume her stance.

"Whatever it is that you're trying to accomplish," Saïx said calmly, "it's not going to work."

"It's not?" Yuffie asked, cocking her head to the side like she was genuinely surprised. "How do _you_ know?"

In answer, Saïx did something that Axel had been dreading. He jumped into the air, swinging his weapon above his head, and came down fast, faster than he had been before. Blue spirit energy burst from his weapon, flying in three different directions and cleaving deep furrows in the earth. Yuffie just managed to sidestep the destructive ray that came in her direction, but just barely. Axel didn't know how many more times Saïx could do that without the power of the moon to support him, but he had a feeling that it wouldn't take too many more attempts before Yuffie ran out of luck.

Saïx wrenched his weapon out of the dirt where it had gotten lodged as Axel yelled, "Yuffie! Whatever you do, don't let him hit you with that!"

"Yes, Axel, dear, I gathered _that_ much!"

Axel fell silent once more, watching carefully for the right opening. Saïx was right—Yuffie was planning something, and though he wasn't sure what, he knew instinctively that when she let loose, it would be his only opportunity to get them out of there.

"Saïx, you're not really my type. I know it's disappointing to be rejected when you're in love and all, and I know that having your heart broken by beautiful little me is something that no normal person can recover from, but really, violence is not the solution! Don't you want to talk about this? We can have tea and cookies and work all of our differences out."

Yuffie lifted her shuriken up as he appeared above her, and she blocked his attack, suppressing a wince as her arms wobbled. His weapon was damned heavy, but, luckily, she could feel energy building at the very tips of her fingers. It wouldn't be long now before the attack was ready—she just needed to get his weapon away from him somehow.

Yuffie knew already that she had a slight speed advantage, even if it was only slight. She needed to use this. It was the only thing she had over him, really. Well, that, and her biting wit, but she didn't think it would help her at that point.

She waited a bit, getting close to him more frequently each time he attacked her. Her window of opportunity came when she felt the air crackle like he was about to use that attack again. He hefted his weapon and swung, and she danced out of the way as it hit the ground. She did a graceful twirl, trying to move out of the way of Saïx's long-range attack. She was almost successful, but one of the bits of his spirit energy clipped her calf, almost stopping her in her tracks. Almost.

Saïx didn't expect Yuffie's next series of movements, one of them being a flying tackle in his direction. She hit him with the full-body lunge, knocking him out of reach of his claymore.

Just like the first time he had used the powerful attack and missed her, Saïx's claymore had lodged itself in the soft soil. A lot of effort would not be needed to pull it out, but it had afforded Yuffie the amount of time she needed to knock Saïx away from it.

Axel recognized his chance and darted forward as fast as he could while carrying Kairi. Careful not to touch the handle of the weapon, lest he go Berserk, he grabbed the claymore just above the hilt and hurled it as far away as he could, which was not as far as he liked since he was only able to use one hand while the other was handling Kairi.

Saïx threw Yuffie off of him with a massive burst of spiritual force, sending her flying. She landed on her feet gracefully, then stood, holding her shuriken, which she had miraculously kept a hold on, out in front of her, spinning it as fast as she could. When it was at the point where it would float of its own accord, she released it and focused all of her energy into the rotating weapon, the same way she had that day in the alley.

All of this occurred in under two seconds, so Saïx had no chance to move as a blinding ray of light erupted forth from Yuffie's weapon and struck him head on. Axel ran toward Yuffie and grabbed her around the waist. He was well-aware that this would not keep Saïx down for long, however powerful it was. An enraged Saïx was a hard-to-escape Saïx.

Axel pulled them all into the dark portal he materialized, drawing it closed behind them quickly. Standing in the abyss, he concentrated briefly on the first destination that came to his mind. Several yards away, another portal opened. Yuffie ran-limped over to it, Axel following behind her, and just as they reached it, Saïx stepped out of the doorway that had just closed behind them.

He had retrieved his claymore and was running after them with murder in his eyes, bloody and burned. Yuffie glanced quickly behind them, catching sight of Saïx and the look on his face, and vaulted out of the portal, hitting the ground running. Axel jumped out after her with the Luna Diviner hot on his heels, and Saïx slipped out as the doorway closed. He caught up to them with ease, as Axel was too slow with a passenger, and Yuffie was wounded.

Saïx streaked past Axel and pounced on Yuffie, knocking her to the ground and slamming his booted foot into her chest. Her head hit the ground hard, and she cried out, but immediately fell silent when Saïx placed one of the blades of his claymore against the pale column of her throat.

"Now," he said raggedly, panting. "You've caused me quite enough trouble I think. Hand Kairi over or I _will_ kill her this time, Axel. She has toyed with me one too many times, and I may just take my anger out on her." His lips pulled away from his teeth savagely as he pressed the blade harder against her throat.

"Axel," she said slowly, quietly, "don't you dare give him Kairi. Don't you dare."

Axel stared at her, then looked at Saïx. He was serious—he had been serious every single time he had threatened to kill Yuffie, and Axel knew it. After only a moment's more hesitation, in which Saïx kicked Yuffie in the ribs one good time, he placed the unconscious Kairi on the ground and backed away from her.

"Axel, no!" Yuffie hissed at him.

"All right, Saïx, back away from Yuffie," Axel said.

"Hmm, now that I think about it," Saïx mused, "no. She's caused me enough trouble."

He raised his claymore into the air and prepared to swing it down, but Axel had already materialized his chakrams, anticipating a move like this. He shot a plume of fire in Saïx's direction, but Saïx had taken it a step further and predicted Axel's next move, stepping out of the way. Before Axel or Yuffie could make another move, Saïx scooped Kairi off of the ground and disappeared into a swirling dark portal.

Axel ran over to Yuffie, who was wheezing on the ground, and crouched down next to her. "Are you all right?" he asked, his eyes concerned.

"I'm fine, I'm fine! Go get Kairi!" she yelled, gesturing wildly.

"But you—"

"Axel, they've got Kairi!" She was screaming so hard, she was spitting. "And it's all our fault! Now go get her or I'll kill you myself!"

"Are you sure you can—"

She cut him off again as she pulled him into a tight embrace and held him there for a few scant seconds. "I'm fine, now go!"

Axel sprang into action, sliding into his own dark doorway and disappearing from sight.

At this point, Yuffie noticed three things. First, she was in massive amounts of pain. Second, she was having trouble breathing. Third, she was bleeding heavily from the wound on her leg, and she was surprised she had even been able to stand—let alone run—with how deep the cut was. Fourth, she was sitting in none other than the Bailey.

Wondering at her luck, Yuffie moved as quickly as she could down through the fissure in the rock that hadn't been there before, to a sort of overhanging cliff, which revealed to her a dreadful sight: the gorge was overflowing with Heartless. Thousands of them were swarming the area, forming one shifting black mass.

Yuffie gasped sharply when she saw a bright spot of pink amongst all the black. Her friends were down there, and leg injury or no leg injury, she needed to help them.

It took more time than she would have liked, but she made her way down the winding and precarious path to the bottom without incident. Unfortunately, she couldn't see where Aerith had gone, and her leg was going numb. She could not even feel the pain anymore.

The Heartless, never ones to ignore fresh meat, began to swarm her. She threw her shuriken out blindly, catching it each time as it came back to her, but with her injury and weakness from the intense fight with Saïx, they soon overcame her. She fell on her rear into the dirt, waiting for the Heartless to claim her.

Much to her surprise, the familiar cooling sensation of a healing spell flowed over her, and she watched in amazement as the wound in her leg knitted together, and Aerith stepped forward to lend her a helping hand. She shook her head at her friend as she got up on one knee and lifted herself to her feet.

"Yuffie," Aerith said severely, "where have you been?"

"Y'know, I'll explain it all to you later, Aerith, I really will, but I don't think now is the time or the place."

"For once," Aerith conceded, "you're right."

They ran with the flow of the Heartless, dodging out of the way of the random blades and claws that came toward them. Yuffie panted, "Where are Cloud and the others?"

"They're fighting somewhere around here," Aerith said. "We've all been so worried about you, Yuffie."

"I'm sorry, Aerith. I was doing it for your sake and my own, or at least, that's what Axel said."

"I figured it had something to do with him," Aerith said. "You disappeared right after you went to say good-bye to him. But you can explain all that later—right now, we've got to help Sora."

"You're right," Yuffie said. Aerith cast one last healing spell on Yuffie, then raced off in a separate direction. Yuffie wasn't worried about her—Aerith could take care of herself; she always had. Yuffie took off the way she hoped she needed to go in order to find Sora. She sort of figured that the Heartless would all be drawn to the Keyblade, so the followed them the best she could.

As she was going with the flow, so to speak, she met up with Tifa.

"Yuffie!" she exclaimed. "Where've you been? We've been looking for you for months!"

"I know, I know, but I _promise_, I'll explain it all later," Yuffie assured her. "Right now, I'm going to try and help Sora. Do you know where he is?"

"Yeah, Cloud's helping him fight the Heartless as we speak. He needs all the fighting force he can get. Let's go!"

Tifa led the way with Yuffie following, and soon, they came upon Sora duking it out for all he was worth, plowing through a group an army of neverending Heartless. Yuffie stepped into the fray without hesitation, cutting through enemy after enemy, forcing her worry and frustration into every throw of her shuriken.

Sora got ahead of them in all the confusion, but Yuffie noted in which direction he had gone and followed him soon afterward. She followed the trail of decimation he left, through the gorge, noting the significantly decreased number of Heartless from before. She entered yet another fissure in the rock and sprinted up the trail.

She stopped short however, when she heard Sora shout, "Out with it, Nobody! Where's Kairi? Where's Riku?"

Before she could make the decision to interrupt, his powerful and commanding reply made her stop to listen. "I know nothing of any Kairi."

At this, Yuffie crept forward, sneakily watching from around the corner, figuring it was in her best interest to stay hidden. If this man Sora was talking to was a Nobody, it was quite possible he had something to do with Axel, and she _needed_ to know how to find him again.

"As for Riku," said a silver-haired man standing a few feet away from Sora, Donald, Goofy, and King Mickey, "perhaps you should ask your king." Then, he disappeared.

"Stop!" King Mickey shouted, leaping into the dark portal the man had vanished into.

"He's gone…" Sora said, slamming his fist into the ground. A moment of silence reigned, during which Yuffie contemplated going to Sora and asking every single question she wanted an answer to about Organization XIII, but when she made the decision to interrupt and took a step forward, Donald looked out over the cliff's edge.

"What's goin' on?" Goofy asked.

Then a new voice rang out that made Yuffie freeze.

"Way to fall right into their trap."

She couldn't see him, but she new Axel was there, blocked by the outcropping of rock she was hidden behind. She could see Sora, Donald, and Goofy, but her range of sight was significantly impaired beyond that.

"C'mon, it's a set up by Organization XIII. Xemnas is using you to destroy the Heartless—that's his big master plan," Axel said. She heard Axel's footsteps, and then suddenly, he was within view for her.

_Xemnas?_ Yuffie thought.

"Xemnas?" Donald said.

"The guy you just saw. He's their leader. Got it memorized?"

She was beginning to think that was some sort of catch phrase for him.

"X-E-M, N-A-S."

"Organization XIII wants to get rid of the Heartless?" Goofy asked.

"Man, you're slow."

_You're so charming, Axel. You really know how to make people listen with an open mind_, Yuffie thought.

"Every Heartless slain with that Keyblade releases a captive heart. That is what the Organization is after." Axel was gesturing with each sentence, telling Yuffie that he was very serious about the topic.

"So what are those guys gonna do with the hearts?" Donald asked.

_Psh, that's what I wanna know,_ Yuffie thought. _Maybe they're gonna eat them or something_. "Ew," she said aloud, then clapped her hands over her mouth. She quickly glanced up at the others and realized they hadn't heard her. They were still talking.

"I'm not telling."

_Asshole_.

"Tell us!"

"You," Sora said, interrupting for the first time. "You're the one that kidnapped Kairi!" The look on his face almost broke Yuffie's heart, and a humongous wave of guilt crashed over her, for knowing where Kairi was this whole time and doing nothing to help Sora.

"Bingo," Axel said coldly. "The name's Axel. Got it memorized?"

_That's twice in five minutes that you've said that, you idiot. And quit being such a jerk!_

"Where is Kairi?"

Axel paused and scratched his head. Yuffie winced.

"Please! Just tell me!" Sora said, a note of desperation in his voice.

"Look, about Kairi…" Axel said.

_Here it comes_, Yuffie thought.

"I'm sorry."

_You don't sound very sorry._

"Axel!" said a stern, familiar voice.

Yuffie's heart sank as Saïx appeared.

"Uh-oh!" Axel said, and disappeared into a swirling vortex of his own.

Yuffie ducked back behind the rock, making sure not to alert Saïx of her presence. He'd kill her for sure if he saw her.

She heard him say, "We'll ensure he receives the maximum punishment," and then she felt a hand clamp over her mouth and drag her away.

"Shh," a voice whispered into her ear. "It's me." It was Axel.

As soon as they were a safe distance away from Sora and Saïx, he released her and she turned around.

"That was your chance to tell Sora what's going on!" she exclaimed.

"You think I'm gonna tell Sora that I'm trying to turn him into a Heartless so I can meet up with Roxas again, huh?"

"No, but you could have told him you had Kairi and that now Saïx has her," she said.

"I couldn't stick around, you know that. Besides, I knew you were back there. I heard you say 'ew.' What'd you say that for anyway?"

"Look, don't worry about that," Yuffie said, waving a dismissive hand. "What do we do now?"

"I'm going to do my best to get Kairi back. I don't really know what the Organization plans on doing with her, but I'm sure it can't be good, and it's partially my fault she's involved in this anyway. They may not have found her if I hadn't kidnapped her in the first place." He didn't meet her eyes.

"I'm coming with you," Yuffie said.

"No!" Axel said sharply. They stared at each other, Yuffie glaring, Axel firm. "No, you're not coming with me. It's too dangerous, and besides, your friends need you."

"They can take care of themselves—_I_ can take care of _myself_. Axel, I'm coming with you," she pressed.

"You almost got killed today, Yuffie, and it's all because you got involved with me. I can't have any other lives on my conscience," Axel said, shaking his head.

"Lives on your conscience? Is that all I am?"

"No!" he said, grabbing her shoulders. "_Listen_ to me. I'm going to get Kairi back, but right now, I can't be worrying about you too, I just can't. A little while ago, when Saïx—when he had you on the ground, with that blade at your throat—Yuffie…"

He swallowed hard, unable to continue.

"Axel, I understand that you're worried, but you _can't_ leave me here. I have to help you find Kairi, I have to."

"No, and that's final. You're staying here."

"But—"

"No," Axel said again. His eyes hardened, and Yuffie knew that he wasn't going to change his mind easily. She was ready for an argument.

"Axel," she growled.

"I'll come back as soon as I can with information, Yuffie, I promise. Don't make me leave it like this."

Yuffie knew that this was the closest Axel would ever come to really asking her for something. As much as it killed her, she would just have to have faith in fate. She would just have to wait for him to come back to her.

She sighed. "Okay. But you promise?"

"I promise," he said, looking her in the eye.

"You swear?"

"I swear."

He moved to draw her into an embrace, but Yuffie, overwhelmed by a rising feeling of desperation, grabbed him by the chin and forced him into a bruising kiss. Their teeth knocked together, and she tasted blood. His mouth was hot against hers, and she realized that this was something they had been leading up to since the day they first met.

She put all of her rage, all of her frustration, all of her emotions into the kiss, and if emotions could be tasted, he tasted all of that. After an all-too-short moment, he pulled away, breathing heavily, and pecked her once more on the cheek before stepping away from her.

"I'll be back soon," he said as the darkness rose up and enveloped him.

"If you're not, I'll hunt you down, Axel. I swear I will."

He waved to her, and then he was gone.

That was the last time she would see him before he died.


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: _This is the point where Mengde, beta extraordinaire, and I sat down for two and a half hours on the phone and hashed out what comes next. I have, from the beginning, had the vague idea, but the plot was riddled with holes and things that I couldn't find solutions to. However, Mengde helped me and now I have a completely written story map. This fic should end around eighteen to twenty chapters or so._

_By the way, as of tomorrow (or is it today since it's twelve thirty in the morning here?), this fic will be a year old. And I only have eight chapters posted. Oh my god, I suck._

_Also, to everyone who might be concerned—don't worry, I like happy endings._

-.-

"_Yuffie," Axel gasped, clutching the gaping wound in his chest. He was on his knees, blood pouring from between his black-clad fingers, pooling on the ground and flooding between Yuffie's boots. "Yuffie," he croaked again, blood bubbling between his lips and staining them dark red, "you never came. Saïx had me, and I kept waiting for you, but you never came. Why?"_

_His jade eyes pleaded with her, tearless but still heartbreaking. Yuffie stepped forward to help him, reaching for him, but when she looked at her hand, it was holding her boomerang shuriken, and suddenly, her shuriken was no longer in her hand—it was protruding from Axel's abdomen, and more blood was dribbling over his black clothing._

_She gasped, staring at her spread hands. Once more, she reached for him, desperate, confused, but he shrank from her touch, spitting blood at her feet._

_"How could you?" he asked in a thick voice. "I don't understand…"_

_"No," Yuffie whispered. "NO!" she said again, shouting this time. "I didn't…I…what? Axel, I don't know what's going on. You've got to believe me," she cried, tears streaming down her face. She felt a sudden shift and looked down at herself, only to find that she was covered in blood from head to foot. Axel stared at her, horrified, and Yuffie knew, somehow, that it was _his_ blood cascading down the planes of her body._

_"No, Axel! I swear, I didn't do anything! I don't understand!"_

_"Yuffie," he wheezed, "you killed me."_

_"AXEL!" she screamed as he toppled over, unmoving and pale. She ran to him, flinging blood everywhere. "AXEL!" She pulled the shuriken from his gut, cradling his head and shouting for him to please wake up._

-

Yuffie bolted upright in bed, calling Axel's name in an, piercing agonized wail. Panting, she clutched at her head, the room spinning around her as she realized that it had all been a nightmare. Moonlight soaked the room through her slightly cracked blinds, casting everything in an ethereal, silvery glow.

Disentangling herself from the sheets that were binding her to the bed, Yuffie went over to the windows and completely closed the blinds, then unbound the curtains, making sure that the windows were completely blocked before she switched on the lamp. The problem with living in a place that was infested with Heartless was that they were especially plentiful at night, and they were drawn to any light sources they saw, like moths to the flame. As a result, the Hollow Bastion Restoration Committee was always especially careful to keep the headquarters on lockdown when the stars were at play.

Yuffie padded her way down the hall to the bathroom, where she made sure the windows were covered before switching on the light and washing her face in the sink. For good measure, she splashed cool water in her hair as well as on her overheated, flushed skin, then grabbed a towel and scrubbed it over her wet head. She disregarded the water now soaking into the collar of her t-shirt as she threw the towel to the floor and made her way to the kitchen.

Yuffie raided the fridge, the details of her nightmare swirling around her head, the images replaying themselves over and over again. Recalling it made the hair raise on her arms, and she tried to convince herself that it was the chilled air of the refrigerator that caused the prickling sensation on her skin.

"It was just a nightmare," she breathed to herself, sitting down at the table.

"You had a nightmare?"

Yuffie jumped out of her chair immediately, rounding on the owner of the voice. In the very back of her mind, she registered that it was Aerith before she even laid eyes on her friend, but her reflexes and senses at the late hour were not the sharpest or smartest.

"Aerith," Yuffie sighed, lowering her instinctively raised fists and relaxing her fighting stance.

"Who did you _think_ it was, silly?" the other woman asked, her eyes sparkling in the harsh overhead lights of the kitchen.

"I don't know. No one, I guess. I'm just sort of jumpy at night," Yuffie said, rubbing the back of her neck and turning back to the glass of chocolate milk she had been concocting. She had just finished adding the chocolate syrup to the milk when Aerith interrupted her, so she picked up the spoon and began to stir the two ingredients together.

"Chocolate milk, at this hour? You don't ever make chocolate milk unless you're upset," Aerith observed.

"I'm not upset," Yuffie said dismissively. "What? I'm not allowed to want some chocolate milk?"

"Yuffie," Aerith said in a gentle, low voice. Yuffie recognized that tone, and although it was comforting, she knew that there was no fooling her best friend.

Yuffie faced Aerith as the older woman said to her, "I heard you scream, Yuffie. I wouldn't be surprised if _everyone_ did. You know Leon, Cid, and the others aren't heavy sleepers after everything that's happened to all of us."

"Then how come _they're_ not here questioning me?" Yuffie asked bitterly. "I know they can't resist any opportunity to stick their noses in my business."

"That's not true, and you know it," Aerith said, her voice admonishing. "They care about you, Yuffie, and you care about them. They're your friends, and they have been for years. They just want to make sure you're all right. And besides that, they've been remarkably good and haven't probed you for information about the two months you were missing."

Yuffie sighed, tracing patterns in the condensation on her glass. "You're right," she conceded. "It's just…"

"You feel guilty," Aerith said shrewdly, pulling out a chair across the table from her.

"Yeah, I guess I do," she replied. "You've all been so understanding, and you haven't pushed me to tell you anything I don't want to tell you, but I feel like you _should_ be. You should all be saying, 'Yuffie, you were gone for two months to no-one-knows-where, so tell us what the hell went on all that time!'"

Aerith rested her head on her joined hands. "We're not usually _that_ bad, are we?"

Yuffie gave her a look. "Are you kidding me? Tifa thinks all that time I was waiting on Axel that I had a crush on Leon, and I only told her that because she tickled it out of me! And remember that time you guys thought I had a boyfriend and Cid and Leon followed me because _you_ told them to? Yeah, I remember that."

"All right, so maybe we _are_ a bit extreme, but this is different, Yuffie. We know when to lay off." Aerith smiled warmly at her.

"I know, and I appreciate it. You're the only one that knows pretty much everything, Aerith. The rest of them just think that Axel kidnapped me and that I got out of it mostly okay."

"Our friends aren't stupid, Yuffie. They can tell that there was more to it than that," Aerith said.

Yuffie nodded, taking several gulps of her chocolate milk before replying. "I know that too."

"You're worried about him, aren't you?" Aerith asked.

"Of course I'm worried about him," Yuffie said. "I haven't seen him in over a month. I would go looking for him, but I don't even know where to begin. I can't dimension-hop like the Nobodies do."

Aerith nodded. "We can tell you're worried. You've been talking in your sleep and having nightmares for weeks. Would you…" She hesitated. Yuffie had, until this point, been extremely close-mouthed about Axel and what had happened between them. Aerith knew she was lucky to even know the little that she did from Yuffie about the whole situation. She was the only one that Yuffie had felt comfortable enough to open up to about Axel, and Aerith had a feeling it was because she had met the fiery man once before.

She cleared her throat and started again. "Would you like to talk about the nightmares?"

There was a tense, pregnant pause. Yuffie tossed back the rest of her chocolate milk, and Aerith got the distinct impression that her friend was imagining or wishing that it was alcohol.

"No, I wouldn't, but I think I probably should," Yuffie said dryly.

"It might help you to tell someone about them," Aerith supplied.

"The dreams are different almost every time, but in every one, Axel is hurt, and it's my fault," Yuffie said. "Sometimes Saïx is there, sometimes he isn't. Sometimes Axel dies, sometimes he doesn't. But there's always lots of blood, and he's always got some kind of hole in his chest."

Aerith's brow furrowed. "No wonder you've been screaming in your sleep."

"I'm gonna get fat off chocolate milk if this keeps up," Yuffie said, chuckling darkly and taking the empty glass to the sink, where she rinsed it out and put it in the rack to dry.

"Have you tried to put it out of your mind and stop worrying about it?"

"Do you _really_ think that's going to solve my worrying problem, Aerith?" Yuffie asked, frowning at her friend.

"You're right, but I wish there was some way I could help you."

"The only thing I can think of is to wait for Axel to come back."

"I think you should ask Sora the next time he comes around," Aerith said.

"What the heck am I supposed to say to him, though?" Yuffie was clearly frustrated.

"I don't know," Aerith admitted, "but I'm sure you'll think of it when he gets here."

-

For once, Aerith was wrong. Sora came and went once more, and helped wipe out the Master Control Program, but Yuffie thought of nothing that she could possibly say to him that would not make him suspicious. Everything that came to mind for her just sounded stupid, and she knew after he left that she had ruined her one chance at finding out about Axel. In all that time, she could not approach him once, and she only remembered afterward that she could have told Sora about Roxas.

To make matters worse, she was still having nightmares. She woke almost every night in a cold sweat, tangled in her sheets, with a scream dancing on her tongue. As the weeks wore on, Yuffie learned to keep her screams inside. Even so, on the nights when her terrified shrieks bled through from her sleeping world to her waking world, Yuffie found Aerith waiting for her in the kitchen. Her friend always had two glasses of chocolate milk—one for herself, which she drank daintily through a straw, and one for Yuffie, with the spoon still in the glass so she could scoop the milk into her mouth, just the way she liked it.

Yuffie was tearing her hair out with worry, knowing that she was powerless to do anything to solve her problems. Yuffie Kisaragi did not enjoy being completely powerless, and the feeling was making her snappish and mean.

One day, when she nearly bit Leon's head off because he asked her to pass the salt, he rounded on her.

"Yuffie, what hell is wrong with you lately?" he spat, glaring at her with harsh blue eyes.

Everyone froze. A dinner together was something that the Hollow Bastion Restoration Committee tried to do at least twice a week, and this was one of those times. Tension hung in the air, and an unspoken question hovered around them all.

_What happened to you in those two months?_

Yuffie sighed, staring at her food. "I'm sorry, Leon," she mumbled, her shoulders slumping.

"You don't even call me Squall anymore," he said, sounding concerned. He was staring at her piercingly, and for a single instant, she had the unnerving idea that he could read her mind. Leon had that effect on people.

"Leon, please," Aerith said softly, giving him a look that Yuffie did not miss. "Not here."

"Why not?" he suddenly yelled, angry once more. "Why _not_ here? We have a right to know, and we've been damn patient about it."

"No one has a right to know _anything_!" Yuffie yelled, standing up and slamming her open hands down on the table.

"Yuffie," Tifa said placatingly, shooting Leon a quelling look, "what Leon is trying to say is that we're your friends, and we're worried about you. We wish you would talk to us."

"Yeah, kid," Cid said around a mouthful of mashed potatoes. He swallowed. "You ain't been the same since you got back."

"I'm sorry, guys," Yuffie said quietly, "but you're going to have to give me some more time. I just…can't explain it right now, okay?"

There was a tense pause, and then Cloud said awkwardly, "Good chicken, Aerith."

"Actually," Aerith said, "Tifa made it. I did the dessert this time."

"Oh, sorry," he said, casting Tifa an apologetic glance. "Good chicken, Tifa."

Tifa rolled her eyes and said, "Thanks, Cloud."

"Yeah," Yuffie murmured, "thanks, Cloud." Aerith, to her right, was the only one who heard her.

-

And then, against all of Yuffie's doubts, Sora came one last time.

He came through the front door of the borough with all the grace that Yuffie normally associated with him—which was none. He tripped over the doorjamb, and Goofy and Donald followed right after, almost colliding with him. Yuffie saw in her mind's eye the resulting pile of boy, wizard, and knight, and came to their rescue by catching Sora before he fell.

"Sora?" Aerith said from her place behind one of Merlin's books.

"Hi, Aerith," he said, giving her a little wave. His smile looked almost forced, and Yuffie could sense an air of tension about him and his friends. "Could you get the rest of the Restoration Committee in here? I've got to talk to all of you."

He was uncharacteristically somber, and Aerith, sensing his urgency, left the room to follow his request. He turned to Yuffie, who was shutting the door and making sure there were no Heartless intent on dropping by for afternoon tea.

"Thanks for catching me, Yuffie," he said.

"No problem, Sora. That's me, here to fix all your dumb mistakes!" She gave him a big, cheesy grin. He laughed and seemed to relax a little. "Why are you here, Oh Keyblade Master?"

He sobered again at her last words, but before he could answer, Aerith entered with Cloud, Cid, Merlin, Leon, and Tifa in tow.

"Lucky for us," Aerith said, "they were all right within reach."

"What was it you wanted, Sora?" asked Merlin.

"Uh, well, that is to say…" he stammered, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly.

Yuffie was struck then by just how young Sora was. She was not much older than him, she knew, but the fact that the fate of her world and countless others rested in the hands of this boy, who had not yet grown into his enormous shoes and whose hair was permanently uncombed, was unsettling. His guileless blue eyes flickered to each of them in turn, troubled, but still touched by the naivety that marked Sora's character.

The Keyblade had chosen him for that reason. That naivety and innocence were part of why Sora was the one who was going to save the universe.

Donald spoke for Sora, "We're gonna fight the Nobodies."

Goofy followed it up with, "And Xemnas."

Sora finally found his voice, with the encouragement and presence of his two friends. "I came to say good-bye."

They all stared at him, knowing what was coming next, but not really wanting to hear it. In the short time that they had all known Sora and been around him, they had come to love him, just as his ever-present sidekicks did. The thought of him not triumphing over the darkness plaguing the worlds was a frightening one, for who would rescue them then? But besides all of that, they were afraid for the simplest reason as well—he was their friend, and they wanted to keep him safe, even though they knew that was not possible.

"I came to tell you good-bye," he said again, after a brief pause, "in case I don't come back."

"Now that's not any way to think!" Aerith protested. "You'll come back, Sora."

"You're right," he said resolutely, a steely glint in his eye, "but in case I don't, I wanted to thank you guys."

"For what, kid?" Cid asked, one hand on his hip, the other adjusting the toothpick between his teeth.

"For being my friends," he said, "and for being there when I need you."

"You don't have to thank us for that, silly," Tifa said, walking forward to envelop him in a hug.

"No, I do," he protested, returning the embrace. She released him as he said, "And I'm also here to ask a favor."

Aerith said to him, "Anything you need from us, Sora, we'll try our best to accomplish."  
He sighed unhappily. "I know. That's why I came to you guys. If…if I don't come back, could you make sure that Kairi makes it back to Destiny Islands?"

"You have our word, Sora," Cloud said, extending his hand. Sora clasped his arm around the elbow, looking the older man in the eyes.

Sora grinned at him, seemingly weightless and fearless, himself again. Cloud, unable to resist, smirked in return.

"And now, if you don't mind," Donald squawked, "we've gotta get back to The World That Never Was."

"Yeah!" Goofy agreed. "We've gotta go save Kairi!"

"Thanks, everybody!" Sora said as he rushed out the door after his friends.

"Sora!" Leon called after him.

Sora turned paused in his path, halfway across the courtyard in front of Borough. "Yeah?"

"We'll see you soon!" he called, half-smiling in his own Leon way.

Sora paused once again, then a wide smile split his face. "Yeah!" Then, he ran off, once again taking all Yuffie's hopes with him and leaving her with worry and fear.

She felt someone push her between the shoulder blades. "Go!" Aerith hissed into her ear. "If you don't find out now, then you never will!"

She was right. Yuffie took off running seconds after Sora had disappeared around the corner. Doubtless, he was going back to the normal place that the trio parked their gummy ship, and Yuffie had seen him land enough times to know the route to take to get to it.

She rounded a corner just in time to see Sora rounding another one, so she yelled, "Sora, wait!"

He ran back around the corner, catching sight of her. He looked puzzled. "Did I drop something?" He materialized the Keyblade, checked to make sure it was all right, then dematerialized it again. "Is everything okay?"

Yuffie panted with exertion from her quick sprint to him. "I…I need to ask you something," she said.

"What is it?" he asked, glancing over his shoulder anxiously. She did not want to take up too much of his time, and she knew that Donald and Goofy were waiting for him, but she needed a good way to phrase this question or it would all blow up in her face.

"Goofy said that you had to go rescue Kairi, and Donald said that you were going to the World That Never Was," she ventured, hoping this was the right way to go about asking him.

At his expectant look, she was reminded that he was her only source of information. No one knew where Kairi was, and the only other people who knew Axel were more likely to kill her than welcome her.

"Wasn't she kidnapped by some guy? Is she okay?"

"Yeah, she got kidnapped by this guy named Axel. Something happened though, and now the Organization has her."

"Whatever happened to that jerk? Did you…er…give it to him good?" Yuffie attempted, trying to put force behind the words. They fell strangely flat, but luckily for her, Sora did not notice her poor acting skills. She realized that she might be able to clear his name a bit with Sora if she told him _why_ Axel had been hunting him—about the whole Roxas thing, about why he had kidnapped Kairi.

Before she could speak, however, he said the words that shattered her.

"No, but it doesn't matter now," he said flippantly, "because he died."

Yuffie's stomach dropped out, and she felt like she was floating suddenly. Her vision tunneled, and she felt clammy all over, but she managed to stay on her feet and hear Donald calling Sora's name.

"I gotta go," he said, turning away from her. "I'll see you later, Yuffie!"

"Wait!" she yelled, trying to keep the tears and the shock from her voice. "How did he die?"

Sora turned around, and she noticed through the numbness engulfing her that he looked almost sad. He hesitated, and then said, "He saved my life. Me and Donald and Goofy were trapped between dimensions when a whole lot of Nobodies attacked." Yuffie covered her mouth, choking on a sob. "There were too many of them, and Axel showed up, and he…"

Yuffie was falling apart. She hoped he would finish soon, so she could do just that.

"He saved our lives, but he put so much power behind his attack…he just dissolved, right in front of me. There was nothing left, after that. Why do you want to know?" Sora asked, his eyes narrowed in curiosity.

"Oh, no reason," Yuffie said thickly.

"Yuffie, are you—"

"Sora!" Donald screeched from somewhere close by. "Sora, come on! What's taking you so long?"

Sora had reached a hand out toward Yuffie, but she shook her head. "Don't worry about it, Sora. Just go. Tell Kairi I said hello when you see her."  
"What—"

"Sooooraaa!" Goofy called.

"I'll see ya later, Yuffie," Sora said uncertainly. After pausing for one more moment, he ran off, around the corner and out of view.

Yuffie fell to her knees, unable to contain herself anymore. For a little while, she idly wondered who was making that awful racket, but then she realized that _she_ was making that noise. She was wailing piteously and unrestrainedly.

Aerith found her fifteen minutes later, with snot and tears running down her face. She was definitely not a pretty sight. Thinking back, Yuffie was amazed that no Heartless had found them, but considering Sora had come through there before he told them good-bye, she really should not have been surprised. Naïve as he was, Sora was thorough when it came to Heartless.

The tender woman helped Yuffie to her feet without asking any questions, and like the good friend she was, helped her all the way back to the borough, down the hallway, and into her bedroom.

Yuffie cried herself to sleep that day. That would be the first time of many.


	9. Chapter 9

A/N: I realize that the Land of Dragons is not technically China, but Mulan (the woman) ROCKS, and Sora took away all her glory with that Heartless! not the Huns crap, so I kept her the Hero of China. Also, I realize Senzo is not a Chinese name, but I don't really care.

-.-

"_Yuffie," Axel gasped. Blood ran down his forehead, over his eyes, into the cracks at the corners of his mouth, and dripped off his chin. He was coughing, and there was blood in his spittle, landing on the floor, staining his teeth read as he grimaced. One gloved hand was clutching at his chest, trying to keep the fluids inside of the gaping hole where his heart should have been. If he had a heart, that was._

_"Axel, oh, no, Axel, what happened?"_

_"I thought you would be there to help me, Yuffie. Why weren't you there?" He coughed thickly, and she could hear the bubbly quality of his breathing._

_"What are you talking about, Axel? You told me to wait for you? I've got to find you a doctor, I've got to go get Aerith…I've got to do something!"_

_Yuffie's hands were shaking as she approached him, but when she reached for him, he flinched, drawing away from her. She had never seen Axel flinch before. Why was he afraid of her?_

_"I waited for you, Yuffie. I waited for you to come for me, but now look what happened. You weren't there, and now I'm dead."  
"But you're not dead, Axel!" Yuffie gasped, horrified. "You're right here! What are you talking about?"_

_"You don't understand, Yuffie. I'm dead." He looked up at her pitifully, and there was no hope in his eyes._

_"You're not dead!" Yuffie yelled, reaching for him again._

_"Don't touch me," he quailed. "You killed me, Yuffie. I'm dead, and you killed me."  
"No, Axel, I swear, it wasn't me. I would never hurt you! I didn't kill you!"  
Axel collapsed, coughing, onto the ground. When she rolled him over to get a look at his face, the light in his bright eyes was fading away. Weakly, he said, "No, but you might as well have."  
_

-

Yuffie woke with tears streaming down her face. This was not the first time. She had actually lost count, since it had happened every night since she learned of Axel's unfortunate and untimely demise.

She really did not know if she could take this anymore. She hated feeling this way about any person, dead or alive. She felt like she had no control, like she did not know what was going on with the universe, like there was no way for her to even handle herself anymore. She felt like a walking shell.

With a slightly hysterical giggle, she realized that she must be feeling like Axel did when he was alive.

When he was alive. Fresh tears poured out of her eyes. She was like a faucet. She couldn't stop it anymore. If the tears were coming, they would just come. She hated the fact that she had no control over her own emotions.

She stumbled down the hall and to the kitchen, where Aerith was reading a book and drinking a glass of chocolate milk. By this point, it had become routine. There were no complete nights for Yuffie. She slept for about three hours before waking up from terrible, guilt-ridden nightmares in which Axel bled to death in her arms or on her shoes, then she wandered into the kitchen like a zombie, where Aerith had already made her a glass of chocolate milk.

"Want to talk about it?" Aerith asked over her book.

"No."

"You sure?"

"There's nothing to talk about," Yuffie said miserably, feeling as though no amount of chocolate milk in the world was going to help her mood. That was true. Nothing was going to help her mood.

"What did you dream this time?"

"Axel told me that I killed him."

"You didn't kill Axel."

"Don't you think I know that?"

"Well, your subconscious doesn't seem to know that. You're not blaming yourself, are you?"

"No. At least, I don't think I am." Yuffie sighed into her milk, watching the surface of it ripple.

"You know, you haven't left the house since you told the others about what happened."

"So?"

"It's not good for you. You need to get out and do something."

"What do you think I should be doing, Aerith?"

"I don't know. _Something_."

"Good job. Being specific, I mean."

"Well, you can start by being yourself."

"How would I do that? How am I not myself now?"

"Yuffie, you haven't left the house in three weeks."

"That's just it, Aerith!" Yuffie suddenly exploded, throwing her hands up, and then immediately slapping them back down on the table. The half-full glass of chocolate milk rattled and fell over, spilling brown liquid all over the table. Aerith didn't even blink when the empty container fell to the ground and shattered with a loud crash.

"Yuffie, calm down."

"No!" she yelled, red-faced and furious. "It's only been _three weeks_, and you're telling me to _be myself again_? I don't think you understand at _all_, Aerith!"

"Yuffie, you know as well as I do that both of us have experienced loss before." Her emerald-green eyes followed a slowly creeping trail of chocolate milk across the surface of the table. "The fact that you are accusing me of not understanding is insulting. To me _and_ to Axel."

"Well, obviously you've forgotten what it feels like to lose someone if you're urging me to get out and prance through fields of daisies and be happy, skippy Yuffie after three weeks! You know what, Aerith? I think _that_ is an insult to Axel. I think that's an insult to his memory!"

"Yuffie, calm down."

"_NO!_"

"What the hell is going on in here?" Leon's voice asked from behind her.

"Get out, Leon!" Yuffie whirled on him, pointing an accusatory, quivering finger in his direction. "The _last thing_ I need right now is your wonderful wisdom!"

"Whoa," he said, his brow furrowing. "Don't jump down _my_ throat, Yuffie. I just came in here to see why you're shouting at three o'clock in the damn morning."

"I'll shout if I fucking please, Leon, and what are you going to do about it?"

Leon's blue eyes flashed, his jaw clenching. Aerith could see that this was going nowhere. "You can shout outside if you're so intent on acting like a baby and waking up the whole house, Yuffie."

"This is my house too, and I'll scream _whenever_ and _wherever_ I want to!" Yuffie shrieked, stamping her foot. She realized how stupid and childish this was, but something was loose inside of her—something wild and uncontrollable and burning.

"This may be, in part, your house, but majority rules, so either you settle down right now, or I'll take you outside, turn you over my knee, and spank you like the baby you are," Leon said seriously.

"Leon, please," Aerith said quietly as Yuffie opened her mouth to retort. "You're _not_ helping."

"Oh, I'm helping all right, Aerith. Yuffie's treating us all like shit because she doesn't think we know how she feels, and you've been nothing but kind to her through all of this, but look what she's doing in return."

"Shut up!"

"Is this how you pay your friends back for being nothing but supportive of you in your time of need, Yuffie? Is this how you show your gratitude to us for not asking you questions, for giving you time to tell us what happened, even after we looked for you for months and _wasted _time we could've been using to help restore the town?"

"Shut up, Leon! You have _no idea_ how I feel right now!"

"Is this how you pay respect to Axel's memory? You told me he protected you, protected Kairi. He died to save Sora, and you're going to act like an idiot after all the trouble he went to?"

In a deadly-soft voice, Yuffie said, "Don't say another word about Axel. You don't know anything about him."

"From what you've told me, he wouldn't have wanted you to act like an idiot. Good job showing your thanks for all the things he did to keep you alive, Yuffie."

"One more word," Yuffie said, "and I will kick your ass so hard you won't even remember it tomorrow."

"I can see why you're having nightmares," he said nonchalantly. "I'd feel guilty too if I was acting like you, disrespecting the guy's memory like that."

Yuffie launched herself at him, screaming, "_I SAID SHUT UP_!" Her small, tan fists hit him everywhere they could, really intending to do damage. Before she could make any headway in harming him, however, Leon grabbed her by the wrists and held her there. Blinded by rage, she tried to kick him in the shins, wiggling every way she could to break his hold on her, but he hooked one foot behind her knee and knocked her straight on her butt.

She tried to roll away from him, but he pushed her to the ground and sat sideways on her stomach, looking clearly bored with her.

"Now, are you going to calm down and act like a reasonable human being or do I really have to spank you and put you in time out?" Leon asked calmly. "Don't make me do it, Yuffie. I'm your friend, but I will."

Yuffie struggled for about three more seconds before looking directly into his eyes and bursting into heart-wrenching sobs. He could feel the force of her weeping as her body shook underneath him, so he slid off her and gathered her into his lap in a gentle embrace. She seemed very small and very fragile under his hands, and he would never admit it to anyone, but it was a scary thing to think of Yuffie Kisaragi as vulnerable.

He could feel tears soaking the collar of the t-shirt he wore to sleep, but he let her cry, looking at Aerith over the top of Yuffie's shoulder. He sent her a glance that clearly said _A little help here, please_? Aerith hurried over and put her arms around the crying girl, making a Yuffie sandwich.

"Yuffie," Aerith said quietly, "I know this is hard to believe right now, but you're going to be okay. I promise."

-

The next morning, when Yuffie did not come down for breakfast, Aerith went upstairs to rouse her from her room at around eleven a.m. Instead of her grieving friend, she found a note sitting on the pillow. Somehow, Aerith had known this would happen sooner or later. From the time she was a little girl, Yuffie had solved her problems by running away.

Aerith picked up the piece of paper and read the letter written in Yuffie's sloppy, quick print.

"_Dear Everyone,_

_"I'm sorry for leaving. I know you're going to think, 'There she goes, running from her problems again. That's Yuffie—always running away.' But I want you all to know—that's not what I'm doing. I'm not running _away_ from my problems—I'm facing myself._

_"I'm not too great with words, guys, so I'll say this. I'm going to be gone for as long as it takes for me to start feeling less like a lifeless shell and more like the Great Ninja Yuffie again. It has nothing to do with all of you—this is all me._

_"Cid, while I'm gone, stay out of my stuff. I don't care what your reasons are, if I found out you were in my room, I'll steal your most embarrassing underwear and hang them on a flagpole. Leon, Cloud, don't hurt each other sparring—you guys have a serious dick-waving problem. Tifa and Aerith, please don't worry too much. I'll try not to do anything too stupid. Merlin, come out of your work room once in a while please. You're an old man, you need your fresh air._

_"Thanks for everything, guys. I'll see you sooner or later.  
_

_"Love,_

_"Yuffie._

_"P.S. Cid, I'm sorry, but I'm going to borrow one of your Gummi ships."_

Despite the fact that Aerith _was_ worried, since Yuffie had urged her not to be, she smiled just slightly. Running was the way Yuffie healed herself. It was what she did.

They would have their Yuffie back in time.

-

Yuffie landed inside the wide stone yard in front of the palace. She wasn't sure if it was the right thing to do, really, or if any of the royal guards would be happy with her, but there really was nowhere else to land the thing.

The time had come for Yuffie to see Master Senzo again, and she knew for a fact that he was staying in the palace. She had kept up communication with him after the last couple of years without seeing him, and he had informed her of his climbing fame as an instructor. She knew from the last letters they had exchanged that he was very busy with instructing the new guards and military personnel in the ways of martial arts.

Yuffie, with all of her usual tact and aplomb, climbed the millions (or at least it felt like millions) of stairs up to the gigantic front doors of the palace. Something told her that this was not the best way to get into the palace to see Master Senzo, but she had not seen any convenient side doors labeled "Enter Here For Simplicity and Discretion," so she figured she would knock on the doors.

She did not actually get as far as knocking on the doors, however, which, in hindsight, made sense to her. Of course there would be guards at the front doors, and of course they would see her land her ship and be suspicious. When she got up to the top stair, two men in armor crossed their spears in her path, effectively blocking her way.

"Halt!" one cried.

"State your name and your business," said the other.

"Uh, hi," she said. "Yuffie Kisaragi, here to see Master Senzo."

"I'm sorry, but you'll have to file the necessary paperwork and request forms to see anyone considered Royal Personnel."

Yuffie sighed. "Look, I'm a student of his, okay? I came from a whole other world. Could you please just let me through?"

"Master Senzo has said nothing about expecting any visitors."

Yuffie rocked her head from side to side on her neck, smiling grimly at the satisfactory cracks. "I don't think you want to keep me from going in there. I'm not in the mood to argue with you yuppies."

"Miss, we're going to have to request that you vacate the premises. If you desire an audience with Master Senzo, you must go to the capitol courthouse and file the necessary paperwork."

"One last warning, skippy," she said seriously. "I'm a grieving girl, and I don't have time for this crap. Move, or I'll make you move."

"One more word out of you, and we will forcibly escort you to your ship," growled one of the guards.

Quick as a flash, Yuffie pulled her large shuriken out of the holster at her back and ran straight down the stairs. Surprised momentarily, the guards stiffened and took on defensive postures when she turned straight around and charged towards them. She threw her boomerang-shuriken _away_ from them, behind her, and then cartwheeled between the shocked guards. As they turned to look at her, coming in her direction, closing in on her as she ran for the palace doors, she whirled around, looking at something behind them. Before they could register what was about to happen, Yuffie's shuriken returned to her, hitting them both on the helmets with an echoing _clang_. Their eyes rolled into their heads, and they fell to the floor, unconscious.

Yuffie stepped over them gingerly, holstered her weapon, smoothed down her shorts, and knocked on the front door of the palace. The sound was muffled by the heavy doors, but she was sure she had drawn someone's attention with that little performance.

She heard a shout and saw more guards running around the corner toward her. Yuffie rolled her eyes, grabbed her shuriken again and whirled into the fight, finding it difficult to incapacitate these men who wore so much armor and wielded long-range spears, but easy to outmaneuver because of the weight of said armor.

Ten minutes later, those six more guards had joined the two already on the floor, and she sighed as one of them groaned in pain.

"Seriously, I just wanted to see Master Senzo. Is that so much to ask for?"

"I don't know who you are," said a deep feminine voice, "but I think it's time you left."

Yuffie turned to see a young woman, not much older than herself, with a sword pointed in her direction and her body in a fighting stance.

Yuffie put her hands up, shuriken held in her left. "Really, I'm serious, I just want to see Master Senzo. That's all I came for. I don't want to hurt anyone—"

"Really," the woman said skeptically, nodding toward the pile of guards at Yuffie's feet.

"Because actions speak louder than words."

"You can ask him yourself. I'm Yuffie Kisaragi, and I'm a former pupil of his." Yuffie shrugged tiredly. "I don't actually want to fight anyone, I just don't have the patience to go through weeks of paperwork."

The woman warily lowered her sword and tucked a curtain of her short black hair behind her ear. "I'm going to take you to see Master Senzo, but you have to give me your weapon, and you have to walk in front of me with your hands where I can see them," she said.

Yuffie chose not to tell her about the ten or more throwing stars secreted on various parts of her body and instead nodded, handing her weapon over. "Thank you, er…"

"Fa Mulan."

"Hey, wait a second," Yuffie said, recognizing the name. "I've heard of you!"

Mulan pinked a little. "Really?"

"Yeah, you helped defeat a whole army, saved the emperor, all kinds of stuff. Master Senzo wrote to me about you."

"Aw, it's not that great," Mulan said modestly, waving a hand dismissively. "That door on the left, if you please, Yuffie."

"Oh, okay." Yuffie opened the door and Mulan directed her through several winding hallways and finally to a door that had big, bold black characters painted on it. They indicated that this was Master Senzo's office.

"Knock first," Mulan said. "He doesn't really like to be—"

"What is it?" a gravelly voice said, accompanied by a craggy face jutting out the now opened door. "Who is disturbing me without prior—Yuffie!"

"Hey, old man, how's it hangin'?"

A grin split the man's forbidding face, giving him an altogether sharky look. "I see you are just as rude as ever. You drop by without even informing me, and I have not heard word from you in months, and how did you even get in here?"

Yuffie hesitated, and he rolled his small black eyes. "Never mind. I don't want to know. If Mulan is accompanying you, then I'm sure you've been making a nuisance of yourself."

"You could say that," Mulan said dryly.

"Hey!" Yuffie said, scowling. "If they would have just let me in the first time I asked, I wouldn't have had to kick their asses!"

Master Senzo studied her for a moment, his eyes narrowed and shrewd. He looked her up and down once and then stared hard at her. "You are not yourself."

"What?" Yuffie said, nonplussed.

"Something has happened to you, my pupil. Do not try to fool this old man. I know sorrow when I see it, and you are filled to the brim."

"Am I that obvious?"

"No, but I know you well. Come in, and we will talk. Hero of China, you are also welcome," he added, looking at Mulan.

She shook her head. "No, I just wanted to make sure she was telling the truth before I handed her over to you." She turned to Yuffie. "It was nice to meet you, and next time, could you send word in advance? Shang gets antsy with me when I escort random people into the palace."

"Shang?" Yuffie asked.

"Her fiancé," Master Senzo supplied. "Now come in and stop wasting my time. I bid you a good day, Mulan."

"Thank you, Master Senzo," Mulan replied, bowing formally.

Master Senzo ushered Yuffie into his office and shut the door behind her. She sat down on a cushion in front of his low-to-the-floor desk, and he took a seat behind it.

"You sat on the other side of my desk when you first asked me to train you in the art of battle," he said, staring at her piercingly.

Yuffie nodded, looking down at her hands to escape his gaze. Years had passed, and she still found her old master intimidating. That presence was what made him so commanding and good at what he did. His students listened to him. He even managed to keep Yuffie in line long enough to teach her how to defend herself.

"But now I have taught you all that I know, and you have returned to me for my help once again. Is that right?"

"I don't really know if anyone can help me," Yuffie said.

"Nonsense. Otherwise you wouldn't be here, child."

"You're right," she admitted. "I just don't know _how_ you can help me."

He spread his hands. "Sometimes, one must make a journey without knowing the destination."

"Er…"

He sighed and shook his head. "I think we'll start by you telling me what's troubling you."

Yuffie clenched her fists, took a deep breath, and looked him in the eye.

-

There was silence in the room, a tangible weight that settled about Yuffie's shoulders, after she told Master Senzo what he needed to know. She had told him about Axel, how she met him, what his purpose was, what he was, the friendship they had shared, her time in his home, his departure.

His death.

Master Senzo's gaze rested on her heavily, a new gleam in his eye.

"My child, let me say this first. I am truly sorry for your loss."

Yuffie held back the tears. _No more crying. I'm done crying. Forever._

"Because of the Heartless abominations, we have all experienced loss. I did not even need the Heartless for my losses—war has done that work. I cannot offer you anything more than anyone else has offered you. You have my friendship, my support, and an open ear."

Yuffie took a deep, shuddering breath. "Thank you, Master Senzo."

"Even if you did not know it yourself, there is a reason you came here, and I know what it is."

"You do?" she asked, her head lifting.

"When the mind is clouded by the trials of life, the heart leads the body. Your very being, your soul, led you to me, seeking advice."

"And what advice is that?"

"I will tell you what my master told me the first time I ended another man's life."

"But I haven't killed anyone," she protested.

"No, you have not. However, you _have_ lost a part of yourself that you will not be able to retrieve. The situations are the same in that respect."

Yuffie stared at him expectantly.

"My Master told me, 'The longest journey is the journey inward.'"

She frowned at him, lines forming on her brow. "How is that supposed to help me?"

Master Senzo shrugged. "I don't know, but the same way that your heart led you here, mine tells me that this is why you came."

"So now what do I do?"

Master Senzo placed a hand over his chest. "You heal, child."

"_How_?"

"Think about what I have told you today. Take that with you when you leave. Where are you going next?"

"I don't know. I was hoping I could figure that out before I left."

"You are a journey to heal your soul, so the best way to go about that is to follow its call."

She smirked at him slightly. "You've never been this full of hot air before, Master."

He glared at her. "I'll give you hot air in the arena, child, so do not trifle with me."

For the first time in weeks, Yuffie felt a real smile blossom across her face. "Sorry, Master Senzo."

"That's right," he said smugly. "Learn to respect your elders."

Yuffie rose. "Thank you. For everything."

"I have given you nothing you could not have found for yourself."

"Whatever, Master."

"Get out, you insolent scoundrel."

"Yes, Master."

"And next time you come, bring your Master a gift. I am getting old, and I deserve more adulation from you, my most accomplished student."

"Yes, Master."

They were at the door through which Yuffie and Mulan had entered the palace.

"So…I guess I'll see ya around," Yuffie muttered, scuffing a toe on the marble floor.

"I look forward to your next letter," said Master Senzo.

Suddenly, Yuffie through her arms around his middle, clutching him tightly. He cleared his throat and patted her on the head awkwardly.

"Good-bye, Yuffie," he said.

"'Bye, old man."

"I told you to learn some respect!" he yelled out the door after her, shaking a fist.

-

Yuffie checked her map in the Gummi ship's computer system, looking for her next destination. After a minute, really unsure of where to go or what she was going to do once she got there, she remembered what Master Senzo had said about a journey of the soul and to let her heart lead her.

_Blah, blah_, she thought at first. Then, after a few more moments of chewing her lip and not knowing where she was going, she made a decision. She closed her eyes, spun around in circles a few times, then haphazardly jabbed her finger into the screen where the map was displayed.

When she opened her eyes, her finger was resting just to the right of a world labeled "Port Royal." She had never heard of it, but she shrugged to herself and entered the coordinates.


	10. Chapter 10

A/N: _Some of you may recognize who Auron is talking about in this chapter._

-.-

"Bartender!" Yuffie barked. She could feel most of the eyes in the bar turned toward her, and the little hairs on the back of her neck were standing on end.

The brown-toothed bartender sidled over to her, polishing a dirty glass with a dirty rag. He didn't seem to be making any headway in the cleaning process. "What'll ye have, Miss?"

"What've ya got?" Yuffie asked. He listed off a series of no-doubt alcoholic beverages that she had never even heard of before, so she picked one at random and tried to appear nonchalant as he slid a frothy mug down the bar to her. She caught it deftly and then took a gulp, remembering to contain her grimace at the punch-in-the-face taste, for she could still feel eyes on her.

These same eyes had been on her since she stepped into the bar, wearing her extremely short shorts and her belly-exposing tube top. She had immediately known she was out of place when she saw the long, concealing dresses, pants, jackets, shirts, and everything else that the bar patrons wore. The only thing the women seemed to be okay with exposing was their hands, their faces, and their cleavage. _Boy, do they have some cleavage_, Yuffie thought.

Yuffie knew that when she traveled to other worlds, she was going to seem out of place, but what with the Heartless opening up the passageways between the worlds, she figured that places like this got visitors all the time. However, it seemed that, despite the opened worlds, Port Royal residents were _very_ curious about her.

When Yuffie belched loudly and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, conversation in the bar resumed at what she assumed was normal, the dull roar of many voices melding together filling her ears. Despite this, she could still feel eyes on her. Her skin was prickling with the weight of the gazes on her.

She felt a hand clamp down on her shoulder, and through sheer force of will, she did not flinch.

She set down her mug. "Need something?" she asked coolly, looking over her shoulder just slightly. Her eyes followed the tanned, rough hand up the attached arm and to the face.

Yuffie was met with the sight of a man who looked a little stranger than any of the already dirty and dangerous-looking bar patrons. His black hair was a nest of braids, dreadlocks, beads, and cloth. He looked at her with large, dark eyes outlined in copious amounts of kohl. In addition to the braids scattered throughout his hair, there were little braids and beads twined into his beard.

"'Ello there, Miss," he said in a raspy, deep voice. Just as the rest of the people in Port Royal, this man had a lilting accent that was unfamiliar to Yuffie. "Mind if I have a seat?" He gestured to the barstool next to her.

She shrugged. "Not like I care. I don't own the bar."

After ordering a mug of rum, the dark man turned to her, gave her a toothy smile—was that a flash of gold she saw in there?—and said, "You're not from around here."

Yuffie snorted, looking at him sharply out of the corner of her eye. "Anyone can see that." Something about this man made her feel like she needed to play it cool. She needed to make sure he saw her as sure and confident.

"We don't get many travelers here," he remarked, taking a swig from his mug. He seemed to enjoy the taste of the stuff.

"I find that hard to believe. This _is_ a port," Yuffie pointed out, taking another sip of the fiery liquid in her mug.

"No, not travelers. _Travelers_. I know 'em when I see 'em, and you ain't from this world, Missy. Y'know Sora and his mates? Like them." He tweaked one of the braids dangling from his chin. She noticed that there was black dirt under his fingernails.

"You're right, and yeah, I know 'em," she said simply. "What of it?"

"I like you," he said suddenly, almost leering at her, grinning once more. She blinked. That _was_ gold in his smile. She counted at least one gold tooth in there.

"Er…thanks?" she said, and it was more of a question than a statement.

He chuckled merrily, slapping a hand on her back. She almost tipped over her drink under the hearty blow. He said, "What I mean to say is, I'm lookin' for someone to help me out a bit, and I think you look right for the job."

"Help you out with what, exactly?" Yuffie asked, suspicious.

"Well," he said, leaning his head on one of his hands and giving her an appraising, eyes-narrowed look, "Let's just say…somethin' very important to me has been stolen, and I'm looking for someone to help me get it back."

"'Something'?" Yuffie squinted at him, trying to discern his motives.

"That's right."

"And you want me to help you get it back?"

"That's about the sum of it, yes."

"Why me?"

"Because you walked right in here dressed in nothin' but your skivvies—"

"They are _not_ skivvies. They're shorts."

"I'll say they're short." He smirked at her, obviously staring at her bare legs.

She rolled her eyes. "Whatever."

His face lit up, and he jabbed a finger at her. "That is _exactly_ what I mean. You've got guts, girly, and I could use your help."

She smacked his finger away and gulped some of her drink. "And I assume you're not going to tell me what this 'something' is, even if I agree to help you get it back?"

He leaned in toward her, a disarming smile on his face. "Do you have anything better to do?"

"Hey!" Yuffie protested. "I have _plenty_ of things to do, okay? Jerk." She got up to leave, placing some munny on the counter, but she felt a hand snag her jacket. She turned around, glaring. "Let me go."  
The man was staring at the little orbs she had placed on the counter. "What the bloomin' hell are those?"

"It's munny," Yuffie said, exasperated.

"That's not money," he said, lifting an eyebrow. He reached into a pocket and withdrew a sack that jingled as he fished around in it. "This is money." He withdrew several dingy-looking coins and placed them on the counter.

Yuffie frowned thoughtfully. "What are those?"

"It's money," he repeated carefully. "I don't know what those are," he said, pointing to the munny, "but they're not going to cover your drink, and if you walk out of here with those on the counter, the bartender'll come after you with his pistol."

Yuffie blinked and then sighed. "Okay, fine. Er…d'you think you could cover me?" she asked sheepishly.

His eyes gleamed. "That depends. Do you want to help me?"

Yuffie did not like the idea of helping this stranger recover something of which he would not reveal the identity. She did not like the idea of going on some mission—to which she did not know the details—in a world that was unfamiliar to her. However, this man knew Sora somehow, and he was not dead, and he did not have a keyblade sticking out of his gut, so she assumed that said something good about him.

Also, she did not like the idea of fending off a pistol. She had already caused enough trouble in the Land of Dragons. She did not need to stir up more in a world where she did not know a single person. There would not be a Mulan or a Master Senzo to come to her rescue in Port Royal.

Yuffie was struck with the thought that maybe, just maybe, she should just go with the flow and see where it took her. She was good at that.

"Okay then," she said. "I'll help you."

"Jolly good!" he exclaimed, grabbing her hand and shaking it thoroughly. "Captain Jack Sparrow, at your service."

"The Great Ninja Yuffie. Er…pleased to meet you," she replied.

She had a bad feeling about this.

-

"And stay there!" yelled a burly pirate as he tossed Yuffie and Jack into a cell, lit only by the light of the moon through its one tiny window. "We'll give yeh 'till mornin' and then we'll cut your stinkin' heads off. Yeh can dwell on it until then."

Yuffie landed on top of Jack, and he waggled his eyebrows at her. She rolled her eyes, then slid off of him and onto the dirty floor.

"All this, and for what? I don't even know!" she exclaimed, crossing her arms and sulking.

Jack tried to run a hand through his hair and failed as it got tangled in his unruly locks. "Er, well, see…about that."

"Jack, why did we just try to sneak into a docked ship full of really scary-looking guys?"

He coughed into his hand.

"And why did they attack us when we completely failed?"

He studied a point directly above her shoulder.

"And why aren't you answering my questions?"

"Because, love, in the short time that I have known you, I have come to the conclusion that you are a rather formidable opponent, one that I would not want to defend myself against, especially in a small space such as this, and I prefer to keep me dashing and appealing face exactly the way it is." He smiled slimily at her.

Yuffie's face darkened. "Jack. What were we trying to retrieve?"

"Well, you see, Miss Yuffie, I am a rather infamous fellow, if I do say so myself," he preened, "and I have quite a few enemies. One of these enemies took it upon himself to _steal_ me second most prized possession."

"You say that like you don't agree with stealing," Yuffie said.

"I don't!" he replied, affronted.

"But you're a pirate, right? Don't they steal all the time?"

"Yes, but not from _me_. I don't approve of stealing from _me._"

Yuffie sighed and decided to ask the question that she was most dreading asking. She knew that once she heard the answer, she would be royally peeved.

"What is your second most prized possession, Jack?" There was a note of resignation in her voice.

"My tri-cornered hat," he said sorrowfully, patting the space on his head where a hat would rest.

"Your…hat."

"Yes." He carefully scooted to the other side of the cell, eyeing her as if she were a hungry leopard.

"We just tried to fight our way through forty or more pirates for your hat."

"Yes?" he said, sounding unsure of himself.

"If that's your second most prized possession, then what's your first?"

"The _Black Pearl_. Me ship."

"So we came here to get _your hat_?" Her voice was steadily rising in volume.

"…yes."

"After we get out of here," Yuffie said in a deadly quiet voice, "I'm going to kill you."

"Fair enough," he said. "That is, _if_ we get out of here. What do you say we do until then?"

-

_Two Hours Later_

"So this Axel bloke, he was, like, your boyfriend or something?"

Yuffie shook her head, leaning against the wall directly afterward. "Nah, not really. More like a really good friend."

"And he just up and died on you?"

"Well, he sort of sacrificed himself to save Sora's life, but yeah, you could say that."

Jack stroked his beard thoughtfully. "It sounds like he was a chap with his priorities straight. Sora _is_ the key to savin' our worlds or summat."

"I mean, I don't blame him or anything. I just wish I had a chance to say good-bye."

Jack Sparrow waved a dismissive hand. "That's all a load of sentimental tripe anyhow. You could've never known what would have happened to him, and at least he gave his life to somethin' worth a shit, ye know?"

Yuffie's eyes prickled unexpectedly at this man's straightforward honesty. She choked back tears as she said in a thick voice, "Yeah. You're right."

"How come you're all the way in Port Royal, Miss Yuffie? How long ago was it that this Axel fellow of yours met his end?"

"A little over three weeks ago," Yuffie said softly.

Jack lifted his eyebrows at her. "What are you doin' so far away from home then?"

"I don't know. I just felt sort of trapped, so…I left."

"Trapped, eh? I understand that. Sometimes you have to get away. Then again, stayin' in one place has never been my forte," he said wryly.

"Mine either. Well, I don't normally go away from Radiant Garden—that's my world. I just…have trouble sitting still. My friends have been supportive and all, but everything there sort of reminds me of him, y'know?"

"I've been told that running away is never the way to solve one's problems."

She shrugged. "I like running away. It makes me feel better."

"Good on you, then. Maybe you'll find what you're looking for eventually. I know I still haven't."

"The problem is, I don't know what I'm looking for," she said forlornly.

"Well, you're not the only one that has it bad."

"Yeah?"

"I mean, I know this fellow, goes by the name of Will Turner—he actually can only come on land to see his girl every ten years or so," he said, changing the subject.

"Wow, and they're still together? They must really love each other," she said.

"Well, I suggested that I could help her ease the ache of loneliness, but she didn't take that very well. No idea why."

Abruptly, all Yuffie's charitable feelings for him evaporated. "What'd she do?"

"She slapped me."

"No wonder."

"Yeah. I deserved that."

"So how come this guy can only come on land every ten years or whatever?" Yuffie asked, cocking her head curiously.

Jack grinned. "Oh, _there's_ a story. Sure you want to hear it? It's quite long."

"We got time."

"Right then. So I dunno if you've heard of him, but there's this gent I knew named Davy Jones, and he…"

-

_Five Hours Later_

"Dawn's approaching," Yuffie said. "We need to get the hell out of here. I can't die. I'm too pretty to die."

"You got that right," he said, smirking at her.

"Jack! Get serious!" she yelled.

"Relax, love. I am very serious. You're quite pretty."

"You know what I mean," she growled.

"Very well, very well. Got anything in mind?"

Yuffie deflated. "No. The only thing I can think of is if I could just pick the lock, but they took away all my tools when they took my belt pouch."

"I have a lock pick," Jack offered.

"What? Where? Why didn't you say you had tools?" Yuffie asked frantically.

"Well, I was just enjoying our little chats so much…"

Yuffie reared back and slapped him.

He scratched his head. "I'm not really sure if I deserved that one or not."

Yuffie growled, frustrated. "Stop scratching your head and gimme the damn tools. We don't have much time!"

"Calm down, love, I'm working on it." After a few more seconds of Yuffie fidgeting nervously and glancing at the door, Jack withdrew his hands from his hair and held out a piece of slim, tapered metal. "Here we are."

"You hid that in your hair?" Yuffie asked disbelievingly.

"No one ever searches there," he said proudly.

"Gee, I wonder why," she muttered.

"What?"

"Nothing," she sing-songed as she got to work on the lock on the other side of the cell door. She had a hard time craning her arm around to reach the thing, and she was having to press her face uncomfortably against the metal bars to attempt to see what she was doing, but after about five minutes of finagling and swearing, something clicked and the door swung open.

Jack looked at her, obviously impressed. "Good work."

"How come you have a lock pick if you can't pick locks?"

"Because I always seem to find myself in prison, and even if I can't pick locks, there's no harm in trying, am I right?"

"Okay…" she said dubiously. "Let's just get the hell out of here!"

"Right!" he agreed, running past her with a comical, wobbly gait. She was hot on his heels.

Jack ducked into a room as they heard voices rounding a corner, and Yuffie dove in after him, shutting the door as quietly as she could. The voices got louder and then trailed off as people passed their hiding place, and Yuffie turned around at Jack's quiet "Aha!"

"What is it?" she asked.

"I've found me hat."

They were in a room full of different items that she had a feeling had been stolen from one place or another. Before she could dwell on that, however, she saw something to Jack's right. "My boomerang-shuriken! My belt!"

Jack saw what she was talking about and tossed them to her. "Ah, look, me sword. What a stroke of luck this is."

"Can we get out of here now?"

They managed to sneak down the hallway before they were caught. Three men saw them. One ran off to, no doubt, raise the alarm, and the other two drew swords and leveled them at Jack and Yuffie.

"Sorry, mates, but we can't stick around to chat," Jack said.

"'Fraid you'll have to," Yuffie heard from behind them. She whirled around and saw eight more men standing there, looking menacing. And there were sure to be more where that came from.

Yuffie was struck with inspiration. "Jack," she said in an undertone.

"Yes, love?"

"Could you maybe keep these guys distracted for a few moments?"

"Yes, love."

Yuffie concentrated, drawing all the energy in her body and in the surrounding area into her shuriken in a move that was very familiar to her. In the background of her senses, she heard Jack say, "Say, fellows, have you ever heard about the time I was marooned on a desert island and rode out on a couple of sea turtles?"

Before anyone could reply to this, however, Yuffie shuriken started to spin, hovering in midair. The pirates, puzzled, directed their attentions to the spectacle.

That pause was what saved them. Yuffie's All Creation attack burst forth, blowing a hole straight out of the side of the ship. Luckily, they weren't deep enough in the bowels of it that any water washed in, but it allowed Jack to snag Yuffie around the waist, tip his hat to the stunned pirates, and leap out into the water in one smooth motion.

When they climbed onto shore, Yuffie spat out seawater and eyed the pirates that were staring wide-eyed through the gigantic, smoking hole in the side of their vessel. She arched an eyebrow and said, "Doesn't look like they'll be following us any time soon."

"Hm, quite."

"So, are you going to walk me to my ship?"

"Why, Miss Yuffie, it would only be the gentlemanly thing to do," he said with a grin.

-

"Phil!"

"Eh, what? Who's callin' me?"

Yuffie nearly tackled the half-goat man in her eagerness to hug him.

"Phil! I've missed you! You and your horrible smell of stables!"

"Yuffie?" he asked, surprised. "What're you doin' here? Are you here to compete in another tournament or somethin'? I got plenty of folks for you to fight, y'know."

"Nah, I'm not here to fight anyone," she said. "I'm just here to catch up with you and ask how you've been and say hi to Herc and Peggy and see if Meg has jumped Herc's sexy bones yet."

Phil turned faintly pink around the ears, a strange look on his slightly squashed face. "Er, well, I dunno about that, Yuffie. How ya been, kid?"

"Good and bad. How about you?"

"Well, there's never a moment of peace around here, I'll tell ya. Just last week, I…"

-

Yuffie sighed happily to herself. She knew coming to the Coliseum to see Phil would be a refreshing, good experience. In her time in the battle arenas, she had gotten to know the little goat man extensively, even forming a sort of rough friendship with him. She liked to tease the hell out of him, and he liked to get half-heartedly angry at her. Saying hello to Hercules and catching up with Meg had been loads of fun, and she had fed Pegasus a couple of sugar cubes (given to her by Meg, who kept them hidden in the bodice of her dress) for kicks. She was feeling strangely lighter.

That feeling of lightness went away when she attempted to walk back to her gummi ship and found herself staring at the gigantic doors that led to the Underworld. A tight knot coiled in her stomach, and suddenly, she was struck with a thought.

_Dead people end up in the Underworld, right?_

Yuffie let her eyes flutter closed, and she tried to steady her breathing as she clenched her fists. Just because dead people sometimes ended up in the Underworld did not mean that he was in there. In fact, she wasn't sure if he counted as a person, really. Technically, he was a non-being, non-existent, only transient in the living world. He was a shell, and shells that died did not end up anywhere. They just ceased to exist.

But a cruel spark of hope jumped in her chest, and Yuffie knew she could not leave without finding the answer for herself.

Slowly, hesitantly, she approached the doors, and they swung open in invitation for her as she came near. When she stepped inside, she was met with a few different pathways she could choose to take, but she knew which one she sought, and with a deep breath, she began her journey to the center of the labyrinthine realm.

Yuffie had to speak with Hades.

She had only actually been to Hades' central chamber one time before. There was something about it that gave her the willies. Hades himself gave her the creeps, really. People were not supposed to have yellow eyes, nosiree. Not even if those people were Gods. _Which means they're not, technically, people,_ Yuffie thought. _Eh, whatever._

Yuffie squared her shoulders and took a deep breath. Just as she was about to begin her march to the inner chamber, somebody spoke.

"Whatever it is you're looking for, you won't find it with Hades."

She whirled, a shuriken already in her hand, spreading her feet to steady her stance. "Eh? Who are you?"

The first thing Yuffie noticed about the man who had spoken was the gigantic sword he was carrying—that thing could seriously rival Cloud's or Leon's. The second thing she noticed was that he was missing his right eye. Scar tissue cut across the eyelid, from his hairline to just below his cheekbone. For a moment, she thought he might be missing his left arm, but then she realized that he had merely pulled it out of the sleeve of the enormous red coat he was wearing. It was tucked into the stomach area, right above the belt that was holding the coat closed.

"I am merely someone trying to lend you some good advice. Whatever—or whoever, I should say—you're looking for, it's not in that chamber."

Yuffie frowned. "You have no idea what I'm here for, bub, so mind your own business."

He stared at her appraisingly, and under the sharp gaze of his one eye, she felt distinctly uncomfortable.

"The only reason you would come all this way is to ask a favor of Hades."

Yuffie took a step backward, wondering if, in the event that she tried to make a break for the inner chamber, this man would stop her. "Yeah, what about it?"

"Favors asked of Hades involve the dead."

"Oh, you're a smart one, ain't ya?"

He lifted an eyebrow. "Who is it that you have lost? Someone close to you? A family member or a friend perhaps? A lover?"

Yuffie's eyes widened. "Look, I already said it's none of your business, so if you'll just excuse me—"

"If Hades has the soul of whoever it is you're looking for, you won't get it back."

"Says who?" Yuffie challenged.

The man shook his head. "Souls belonging to Hades stay with Hades."

"If you know the ol' kook as well as you say you do," Yuffie said, "then you'll know that Hades loves to make deals."

"Deals with Hades are only beneficial to Hades himself," the man said gravely.

"Who _are_ you?" she asked, staring at him.

"My name is Auron."

"How do you know so much about Hades anyway?"

He chuckled darkly. "I've been here for a while."

"Why?"

"I have nowhere else to go."

"Is it because you're a loser, and you have no friends?"

"What is your name?" he shot back.

"Yuffie. Now stop evading my question."

"That is an extremely long story," he said. "You're still going to speak with him, aren't you?"

"I have to," Yuffie replied.

"Why?"

"Because if I don't, then I'll never know the truth, and I'll hate myself forever," she said.

"The truth," he said in his gravelly, powerful voice, "is not always kind."

"I need to know," Yuffie said, her gray eyes meeting his single brown one.

"The need to know," he mused, scratching his chin behind the stiff collar of his coat, "is a powerful thing. It drives us, as people."

Yuffie did not know why she was talking to this man, in the empty, echoing chambers of the Underworld. But something, in that moment, compelled her to stay, despite his cryptic mannerisms and her urgent need to speak with the god of the Underworld.

She laughed, but it was not a happy sound. "I guess that's what got me into this whole mess. Curiosity. It killed the cat and all."

"Curiosity only ever kills the careless cat." He shrugged his sword off of his broad shoulders and stuck it in the ground, leaning on it. Yuffie had long since relaxed her defensive stance.

"Well, I _am_ still alive," Yuffie mused.

A tiny smirk lifted the corners of his mouth. Something about the expression seemed to take the edge off of his intimidating presence. "You remind me, very much, of someone I knew a long time ago."

"Yeah?"

"She would probably be about your age now, maybe a little younger," he said.

"What happened to her?"

"I have not seen her since our world was taken by the Heartless." He looked at her directly as he said this, and though his countenance seemed stern and unmoved, she saw in his eye a deep sorrow, and she heard in his voice that it was an old wound.

"Well," Yuffie said, grinning at him, "if it's like you say, and if she's anything like me, I'm sure she's out there somewhere, kicking butt and taking names."

He seemed to mull that over for a moment. After a pause, he said, "Who are you looking for in the Underworld?"

Her grin faded. "A close friend…er…enemy. I don't even know what he is—uhm…was—anymore."

"You are determined then." It wasn't a question.

Yuffie nodded resolutely. "Yep."

A very small smile creased his face, and she was surprised at how approachable he seemed because of that tiny expression. "Then remember this, Yuffie. Sometimes even death cannot hold those with a strong will. But also remember this. Sometimes it is best to let go and let the dead rest in peace."

She bowed her dark head. "Thank you, Auron."

"No. Thank _you_."

"Huh?"

"It's time I left this place, and you have reminded me of the people I used to love and protect. It's time for me to find those people again."

Yuffie smiled at him again. "Let me know if you find that girl who's like me. I think I could be friends with someone like that."

"Indeed." He smirked a little at her once more, then turned around and disappeared through the archway and into the halls of the Underworld.

Yuffie took another deep breath, since the one she had taken had been before Auron interrupted her. Then, she walked into Hades' domain.

She was greeted by Cerberus growling in her face and dripping drool onto her shoes, so she said, "Hades, get your mangy mutt off me!"

"Kisaragi? What are _you_ doing here? Cerby, get off her and go chew on some skeletons or something!" he yelled, clapping his hands at the three-headed monstrosity. The beast relented, slinking off into a corner. "Coming to enter into another tournament, I presume?" Hades slicked back his flaming hair, looking eager at the prospect of making some cash off of Yuffie.

"Nope! Sorry to burst your bubble, Oh Lord of the Lame—"

"That's Lord of the Dead, thanks."

"—but I'm here because I'm looking for someone."

Hades' yellow eyes narrowed shrewdly. "And why would you need to speak with me for that?"

"Because the someone I'm looking for is no longer among the living," Yuffie said, placing a hand on her hip, "and you're the ruler of the dead and everything, so—"

"Listen here, kid," he interjected. "If whoever it is you're looking for is _here_, with me, then sorry, but you ain't gettin' 'em back."

"But—"

"No buts. I don't make deals about stuff like this, sweetcheeks." His yellow eyes gleamed, and the flames of his hair flared briefly. She knew he was serious.

She sighed. "Look, Hades. I don't even know if he's here. I just want to know if he is."

"Fine. You asked for this. What's his name?" Hades walked over to a pedestal. Resting on top of that pedestal was a heavy, dusty book.

"Axel."

"Has he got a last name?"

"Er…"

Hades sighed impatiently. "Okay, then was he a hero or a villain?"

Yuffie blinked. "He was a villain—no, well…he wasn't exactly a villain, but he's not really a hero either…so I guess you could say—"

He glared at her. "You're wasting my precious time here, girly. I got more than a few dead people in this book, and one 'Axel' is going to be hard to find. Describe him."

"Er, well, he's tallish, and he has really long, spiky red hair. And he has sort of girly hips, but anyway, uhm…he's got green eyes, and he was part of Organization XIII, and they all called him the Flurry of Dancing Flames. He can summon fire."  
Hades stared at her skeptically. "'The Flurry of Dancing Flames'?"

She snorted. "I know. That's what _I_ said." Thinking of her and Axel's playful squabbles over little things sent a pang through Yuffie's chest.

The Lord of the Dead muttered to himself as she flipped through pages in the book. Yuffie noticed that he was flipping pages with his eyes closed, seemingly letting his hands find the entry for him.

After several long moments, Hades closed the book with a snap and looked at her. "Sorry, kid. No dice." He held out his hands in a what-can-you-do gesture.

"Are you sure? Are you sure he's not just someplace else?"

"Listen, kid, there is no place else. Even if he wasn't with me, this book would've told me where he was."

"Well, that book can't _possibly_ hold all the names of everyone who has ever died, ever," Yuffie scoffed.

Hades lifted an eyebrow. "Are you forgetting that I am a god?"

"So?"

"And so we gods have magical objects. It's, like, a rule of thumb for gods."

"Oh. Good point."  
Hades stroked his chin thoughtfully. "Are you sure this friend of yours is dead?"

Yuffie nodded, disappointment welling up in her at the realization that Axel was not in the land of the dead. "Yeah. He's dead. Except I don't know if you could call it that, since, technically, he never existed."

"What do you mean?" asked Hades, interested.

"He had no heart. He was just a shell, really," Yuffie said, feeling like she was back at square one. All her hopes were crushed, and she could feel tears prickling at her eyes. She had been stupid to even try to talk to Hades. Even though she had hoped, she really had known, deep down, that she would not find Axel here. Auron was right.

"Ah, I see. I've heard of that," Hades said. "He was a Nobody. And now he's ceased to exist, you say? Well, you definitely won't find him in here. Tough luck, Kisaragi."

"Yeah. Thanks anyway, Hades. I'll see ya around."

"Let me know if you want to enter another tournament any time soon! Stay living, babe!" he called after her.

Yuffie only barely remembered her return to the Gummi Ship. A while later, she found herself slumped against the base of the control panel, staring at her feet. Trying to muster some semblance of caring, she punched the coordinate buttons and watched as a destination called "Wonderland" came into view. Yuffie hit auto-pilot and sat down to stew in her own feelings.

-

Stepping out of the Gummi Ship and scampering down the ramp, Yuffie found herself refreshed at the scorching wind and the blistering sun currently beating at her. She found the conditions in Agrabah a welcome change from the ones in Neverland. She was getting tired of pirates and oceans and ships and stuff like that—even though she really liked flying with the help of some magic dust, and Peter Pan and his pals had liked her a lot.

Agrabah was something Yuffie was used to, and when she thought about it, she found herself relieved to be there. Hub worlds like the one she had just landed on were familiar to her after living in Traverse Town for so long. Admittedly, Agrabah's atmosphere was much livelier than Traverse Town's subdued, sorrowful one, but Yuffie found it much to her liking.

In the past few weeks, she had traveled to several different places. She had been to Wonderland and almost gotten her head chopped off by some psycho queen (admittedly, Yuffie _had_ been doing her best to annoy the lady); had visited Queen Mickey and her friends at Disney Castle (as well as given Goofy and Donald a high-five when they informed her of how they had helped Sora kick the Organization's tail); had been horrified and slightly fascinated by all the people in Halloween Town (they were just as horrified and fascinated by her nice, smooth, living flesh); and had gone to a giant castle where all the furniture talked and while there, had almost gotten eaten by a giant, snarling beast-thingy, but a nice girl named Belle came to her rescue and called the thing off (she was _really_ baffled when the beast-thingy invited her to tea and apologized for startling her).

All in all, it had been an interesting few weeks, but Yuffie was starting to miss her friends again, and her goal of feeling like herself again had been reached. However, she had decided to stop at one last place on the map. Agrabah—it looked interesting, like a perfect place to maybe score some loot and see some interesting people.

Because there were so many folks of different shapes, sizes, and origin in the hub world of Agrabah, Yuffie blended in rather well. It was a nice change from standing out everywhere she went, and therefore, drawing attention.

Yuffie breathed in the scent of hot bodies, too many people, and the greasy aroma of marketplace food. It was glorious. There were all kinds of merchants selling things, trying to catch her attention with their bits and baubles.

When she picked up a delicious-looking fried dough-like dish at a nearby stand, though, Yuffie turned around, and what she saw made her drop her newly-purchased food into the sand. In her stupor, she was not aware of the people bumping against her or the food getting trampled under foot as she made her way through the crowd to a little vendor across from the food stand.

The little stand was filled to the brim with paintings. From floor to canvas ceiling, there were paintings hung. Beautiful paintings of extreme detail and skill. The fact that someone was selling paintings was not what made Yuffie's blood pound in her ears, though. The subject matter of the paintings caused that.

There was a girl in almost every single painting—the same girl every time. She was doing something different in each piece. She was depicted crying, laughing, screaming, jumping, sleeping, eating, swimming, brushing her hair, even doing a cartwheel. Each picture was rendered in careful and passionate detail, down to the last little strand of hair on her head. In many of the pictures, the girl was holding a weapon that Yuffie recognized. In fact, she recognized the girl.

The girl in all the paintings was Yuffie.

As she stood, staring, her mouth hanging slightly open, she heard a voice that almost made her heart stop.

"Is there something I can help you with, Miss?"

_No. No. It can't be. There's no way. Don't turn around. This is a dream. Don't look._

"Do you see anything in particular that you like?"

Yuffie swallowed and slowly lifted her gaze to the owner of the voice.

Behind the counter, looking alive and healthy and not nearly as dead as Yuffie _knew_ he was supposed to be, stood Axel.


	11. Chapter 11

A/N: For the purposes of this chapter, readers, I have taken the idea and the images of the marketplace in Agrabah from Kingdom Hearts, and I have expanded it a little. Just think of what you see in KH's Agrabah, and make it larger and with, y'know, actual people in it. One thing that always sort of bothered me about Agrabah in KH was the lack of NPCs. Isn't it a bustling city? Why did it always look so dead? I figured it was just laziness or something.

-

_Behind the counter, looking alive and healthy and not nearly as dead as Yuffie knew he was supposed to be, stood Axel._

-

He looked just the same. His hair was just as red, just as unruly. Those were the same jade green eyes, staring at her with slight concern. He had the same scars, the same skin color. The only notable difference were his clothes—he was wearing high-waisted pants (from what she could see over the hip-high counter), and above those he had on an airy tunic with no sleeves, made out of a slightly diaphanous, thin material, probably designed to combat the extreme heat. Over top of that was a small, blue vest, in the style of the local garb.

"Uh, Miss? Are you all right? You look a little pale," said the man who looked like Axel—_But no, he can't be Axel! Axel's dead, dead and gone, not coming back no no no._

"You…you're…_no_," she whispered.

He frowned at her, his eyebrows drawing together. As he opened his mouth to say something, someone bumped into Yuffie, and she took that opportunity to vanish into the crowd.

Her mind was racing, but despite the intensity and number of her thoughts, the only clear thing in her mind at the moment was that she needed to get away and _fast_.

When she finally broke free of the crushing, claustrophobic throngs of people in the main marketplace, she did not stop running. Yuffie kept going until she could hear the breath whistling in her throat, and only then did she stop, bending over with her hands on her knees, her lungs heaving under the strain of continuous sprinting and the blistering desert sun.

With a sigh, Yuffie found herself a nice, convenient alley between the buildings and sat there, trying to cool down a little and gather her thoughts. She had the vague idea that the tickling feeling on her neck was her brain running out her ears, but she discarded that explanation in favor of the simpler and less alarming idea that it was probably just sweat.

After thirty minutes, Yuffie realized that twilight had descended and that it was starting to get a bit chilly in the gloom—_that's a desert world for you_, she thought. Unforgiving sun during the day and bone-eating cold during the night.

She figured that she ought to go find herself a room somewhere, and so she started looking for some of the nearest inns or hostels. Since Agrabah was a busy hub world, she did not have a hard time finding a warm bed and a meal for a low price. Luckily for her, unlike in Port Royal and some of the other worlds she had ventured to in recent weeks, Agrabah had adopted the customs of the moogles. Businesses in the bustling city accepted all kinds of currency, even her orb-munny.

When she entered the inn, the old woman who obviously owned the place took one look at her dazed and distressed face, then ladled her a bowl of thick, rich broth, setting it down on the bar. After Yuffie had devoured it ravenously, the kind little lady clucked over her and hustled her up the stairs to a small, warm room near the back of the hallway.

After the innkeeper departed, Yuffie settled into the coarse blankets in her bed and noted with relief that the sheets smelled freshly washed. She drifted off into the sweet release of sleep, exhausted and still confused by the day's events.

-

When Yuffie woke, she sat straight up in bed, staring herself with wide eyes. When she realized where she was, she let out a relieved sigh. For a minute there, she had forgotten why she was in a strange bed in a room she did not recognize.

She let out a sigh of relief and ran a hand through her tangled and matted hair, then thought about taking a shower and getting on with the day. When she thought about what she was going to do since she was awake and in Agrabah, everything that had happened the day before came back to her in a dizzying rush, like a blow straight to the head.

Taking a deep breath, Yuffie decided to do what she did best—snoop.

-

Freshly washed and fed, Yuffie had paid the innkeeper and thanked her graciously for her kindness and hospitality, then departed the little inn. She had not really wanted to go gallivanting about wearing clothes from the day before—especially not clothes into which she had sweated profusely. But Yuffie was a ninja, and besides, she could always buy some clean clothes at the market.

In fact, new clothes were the next step in her plan for the day and not just because the ones she was wearing were dirty. She needed to make herself less noticeable, and in order to do that, she needed to wear clothes that looked more like the local garb. True, there were a lot of strangely dressed travelers, but they still caught looks, and if you were dressed like a local of Agrabah, people tended to take you at face value.

Besides all that, she had to make sure Axel did not recognize her.

She was not sure how effective new clothes would be, so she purchased a set of light, airy pants with long slits up the legs (for freer movement, for Yuffie's purposes), some little black slippers with toes that curled at the ends, a scarf to wrap around her head, and a baggy, bell-sleeved shirt. She changed at the curtained stall the clothing sellers provided and continued on her way to obtain the rest of her disguise. She needed makeup, something she never usually went near. She figured that kohl around her eyes like the locals usually sported would not only shield the harsh glare of the sun and keep some of the sand out of her eyes, but add a nice, unexpected touch to her face.

Against her better judgment, she made a brief trip to the gummi ship so that she could deposit her dirty clothes and her large shuriken. She did not want to leave her main weapon where she could not access it if she encountered trouble of some kind, but she had more than twenty throwing stars concealed on her person at that moment, and she figured she could hold her own long enough to obtain some sort of weapon, should danger arise.

_Besides,_ she thought, _I won't be away from it long. I'm only going to leave it long enough to do some surveillance, and then I'll come back and get it. _

Checking in the mirror to make sure all the throwing stars on her person were completely hidden and to make sure her belt with all her pouches was secure, Yuffie was a little shocked at what she saw. She almost did not recognize herself, so hopefully, Axel would not recognize her either. The kohl she had applied lent her eyes a smoky, hypnotic look, making them seem larger and darker, and the cloak covered her short, recognizable black hair. All in all, she looked rather mysterious, and she felt better about doing some reconnaissance now that she was not such an obvious outsider. Before she departed, she picked up two more things—a set of binoculars she had taken before she left Radiant Garden and a canteen full of fresh water.

Leaving the gummi ship, she made her way back toward the market.

Encircling the sprawling market was the rest of Agrabah. Inns, restaurants, and high-end shops closed in around it, providing a sort of shield from the sandstorms and the scorching sun. The outer wall of Agrabah only reached so far, and as the city had expanded with the waves of travelers coming to the city from other worlds, structures had been built beyond it.

Yuffie located what she was looking for and headed toward it. She started walking in the small, shady space between the backs of the vendors' stands and the sides of larger, more solid buildings. There was trash strewn about there, indicating the presence of other people at some point or another. She figured that shadier characters probably traversed these passageways when the sun was down, for the use of its cover and easy access. Dozens of little alleys branched off where buildings ended and new ones started, so when she came to one that she thought was in the approximate area that she was looking for, she made a right and explored the space.

She was fenced in on both sides with two structures, each three stories high, but what she was looking for was a way to scale one of the buildings. There was almost never any rain in Agrabah, so drainage pipes were not in evidence, and the rock on the walls was so baked from the heat that there was no way for her to carve handholds for herself.

Suddenly struck with an idea, Yuffie's eyes flickered from one side of the alley to the other, and she realized with a grin that the buildings were only about three feet apart. That meant that the walking space was narrow, but it suited her purposes _very_ well.

Carefully, she extended both her arms and braced her feet in the corner formed where the wall met the dirt. With a grunt, she pushed herself up, slowly shimmying up until she was high into the air, holding herself up through the force of her arms and legs pushing against the walls. Just when her arms and legs were starting to quake from the strain, she reached the open sky, and in one quick movement, she pushed with her left arm and leg so that she could turn and grab the lip of the other building's roof before she fell.

She scrambled over the two-feet-high lip of the building and onto the hard, hot surface of the roof, collapsing for a few moments into a heap, trying to catch her breath and rest her arms and legs. When she had regained some strength, she untangled herself, and laid out flat on her belly. The rim around the building's roof was a good concealer, since she did not want to be seen. She made her way across the roof by dragging herself with the help of her elbows and knees, careful not to let her binoculars drag or get in the way of her progress.

When she reached the front face of the building, where there was some walking space and then the marketplace started, with tents and stands flowing out in front, she carefully untied her binoculars from around her neck. Taking care not to make herself too noticeable, Yuffie peeked up over the edge of the wall, scanning the area. A little further down the walkway, she saw the colors of Axel's or Not-Axel's stand, and she saw his bright red hair, like a beacon against the dark fabric of his tent. She put the binoculars up to her eyes and began to watch him.

Yuffie's plan was to observe Axel or Not-Axel for a while to see if he did anything out of the ordinary. She was not sure what, exactly, she was looking for, but she knew one thing. The last time _she_ checked, Axel was dead and gone, and something about a living Axel, who did not recognize her right off the bat, made her extremely suspicious.

Before she approached him, before she extended a hand to see what the hell was going on, she wanted to know what he was doing in Agrabah. So she was going to watch him from a distance, and she was going to see what he did on a daily basis.

After a couple of hours roasting in the hot sun, Yuffie had chugged the last of the water in her canteen, and she had not noticed anything out of the ordinary with Axel, so she decided to call it a day and go back to the gummi ship to cool down and amuse herself for a while. She was exhausted—the sun took the energy right out of her.

-

Yuffie was fed up.

For five days, she had observed Axel or Not-Axel from different angles and different places. Sometimes she was on the roof, sometimes she was strolling through the streets, purchasing things while wearing her disguise. She had discovered nothing out of the ordinary, he had done nothing to indicate that he had any sort of special burning abilities, and he acted like any normal person. If she had not known better, he would seem like a normal man trying to earn a living in the streets of Agrabah, just some random guy trying to make it with his art work.

But she had _seen_ those paintings, and she had _seen_ what he looked like. Whether or not he was supposed to be dead, Yuffie was convinced that it could not be a coincidence that they Dead Axel and this now mysteriously Alive Axel looked exactly the same. There was no possible way that was happenstance.

She was on day six of her observation of him, and she was really very bored. She was searching for something, _anything_ to indicate that he remembered his time with her, or that he wanted to go on a mad hunt to find Roxas, or that he wanted to explode into a fireball and roast some Heartless. Nothing, nada, nope. He was polite to his customers, albeit reserved, and he seemed like any other traveler in Agrabah.

Then, she strolled past his stand, watching him out of the side of her eye, intending to walk straight past and go around again to maybe watch him from around a corner. His head was bent over the counter, and he was writing something with a quill, but as she walked by, he raised his head and met her eyes with a look that was almost certainly deliberate. His lips thinned, and his eyes narrowed, and briefly, he lifted his eyebrows as if to say "_I know what you're doing._"

Yuffie rushed away from the area, thinking that surely he could not have recognized her with the kohl and the head-wrap. After about fifteen minute, she had managed to convince herself that it was coincidence, that he had been looking past her or over her shoulder.

Someone tapped on her shoulder.

She turned and managed to restrain her gasp, forcing a gracious, but somewhat stiff, smile. "May I help you?" she said to Axel or Not-Axel, who was standing behind her.

"Pardon me, Miss, but I believed you dropped something."

He held up a sheet of rough beige parchment. It was folded into a neat little square, and she recognized it as what he had been writing on as she had passed his stand mere minutes before.

"Thank you, sir," Yuffie said calmly, taking the note. He merely nodded at her, turning smartly on his heels and disappearing into the crowd in the opposite direction.

She waited until she was completely sure he was gone before hurriedly making her way back to the inn where she had been spending the nights. The gummi ship was wonderful and all, but it was small, and it was lonely. Even though she did not speak with many people, the older woman who ran the inn, the same woman and the same inn from the first night she had come to stay in Agrabah, was nice to her and always had a smile for Yuffie.

When she was safely in her room, sure that Axel or Not-Axel had not followed her, she flopped down onto her bed and pulled out the note, unfolding it and smoothing the creases.

Written in scrawling, slanted script, it said, "_Who are you? Why have you been watching me? I've seen you on the roof of the building across from my shop._"

It was not signed, and that was all that was written. She wondered at how he had seen her. She thought she been very careful, and she actually had worn different clothes each day, going so far as to purchase more when she knew she was going to be in Agrabah for longer than expected.

Yuffie decided to turn in for the day, as the sun was getting low on the horizon. She went downstairs to find the landlady at the bar, and she sat down and ordered herself a hot meal.

-

Yuffie donned some of her freshly-washed clothes and headed out to the market the next afternoon, having decided on a course of action. _I'm going to go to his shop, and I'm going to talk to him_, she thought. _Not much of a plan, but at least it'll be less boring_.

Axel was, as per the routine she had observed over the last few days, selling paintings. He saw her out of the corner of his eyes as she approached, watching her progress from underneath his brows. Her gaze met his narrowed one, and she strolled up to the front counter nonchalantly, pretending to survey the paintings. She was already well aware what the subject matter was for most of them.

In a low voice, one that carried to her ears but that probably no one else heard, he said, "I know you're not looking at those paintings with any sort of interest."

She shrugged, still putting up a façade of being interested in his art. "No. I know my own face well enough from looking in the mirror."

"Who are you?" he asked, not looking at her, instead seeming very interested in a piece that was in progress on the easel set up to his left. He held a paintbrush in his hand, blending careful strokes of dark brown into what she assumed was going to be her hair, if the shape of the subject was any indication.

"Who do you think I am?" she asked.

"I honestly have no idea who you are," he said.

"Really? You don't recognize me at all?" she questioned, reaching up and pulling the scarf on her head loose, freeing her slightly-flattened hair. She watched out of the corner of her eye as he turned around fully to look at her, studying her. His eyes widened slightly.

She stared at him for a moment. "So you _do_ know me."

"I dream about you."

"What?"

"Who _are_ you?"

"It's me, Axel. It's me. I'm Yuffie."

He looked at her very hard then. "How do you know my name?"

"You really don't remember me at all. Hollow Bastion, the bailey, Roxas, kidnapping Kairi, Saïx, the Heartless, Organization XIII, Sora." She listed those things off, watching his face, gauging for any sort of reaction. When none came and he looked just as blank, if a little bit more confused, than he had before, she found herself growing frustrated.

"I don't understand," he said.

"Neither do I," she said, and with that, she walked away, anger washing over her. She was angry at the universe for playing such a cruel trick on her, angry for her rotten luck, and she was angry at this man for not being Axel.

-

Later that evening at the inn, when she had time to think about her meeting with him and the conversation they had had, two things kept plaguing her mind.

_"How do you know my name?"_

His name was Axel. He looked like Axel, and his name was Axel.

_"I dream about you."_

He dreamed about her. He did not know who she was, but he dreamed about her, and he painted pictures of her. Detailed pictures, as if he knew her.

This could not be coincidence. Something strange was going on, and more than ever, she knew she had to find out. Her suspicious nature be damned, Axel was somehow _alive_, even if he did not know who she was or remember anything about their time together, and she was not going to give him up again. Not without a fight.

-

"You're back," he said when she, once again, acted very interested in his paintings.

"So how did you notice that I was watching you?" she asked.

"I kept seeing something flash when I turned my head. When I really looked hard, I saw someone on the roof of that building over there." He pointed.

"Did you see that it was me?" she asked.

"I wasn't sure until you admitted it just now that it was even you doing the roof-climbing, but I suspected because I had seen you hanging around this area more than enough times for it to be out of place."

"You're good. You've got instincts," she remarked.

"Why?"

"What?"

"Why do I have instincts? Where do these instincts come from? Where do _I_ come from?" he asked softly, pinning her with his astonishing green gaze.

"How long have you been here?" she asked.

He seemed to mull this over. "About a month and a week, altogether," he said.

She frowned pensively. "That's how long you've been dead."

He stared at her. "…excuse me?"

She looked him directly in the eyes. "You died, Axel. You're supposed to be _dead_."

"I don't know what you're talking about," he protested, looking vaguely unsettled. There was something in his eyes. He wasn't telling her something.

"Apparently, you never know what I'm talking about these days." She laughed, but it was not a humorous sound.

"How do you know me? Why do I dream about you? I can't stop painting pictures of you." He gestured at his collection of portraits.

"I thought once that you might have a knack for this sort of thing," Yuffie mused. "I guess I was right."

"I'm tired of asking questions and not getting any answers," he said bluntly. "What's going on? Does this have to do with how I came here?"

She shrugged. "I don't know, Axel. How _did_ you come here?"

He hesitated. "Why should I tell you? I don't even know you."

"You used to."

"That doesn't mean anything. You could be lying."

"Don't you want to know what this is all about?"

He sighed. "Yes."

"Then how did you come here?"

"Over a month and a week ago, I woke up in a bed here in Agrabah. Apparently, I was in a house for the sick. The people there told me that I was found wandering in the desert, delirious and naked."

She stared at him, fascinated, wondering how he had just…appeared again.

He continued. "I can't remember anything from before I woke up in that bed, except that my name is Axel."

She chewed her lip. "What the _hell_ is going on?"

"There's one other thing," he added.

"Yeah?"

"I dream about you every night."

There was a pang in her chest. "Every night?"

"Without fail," he confirmed, nodding. "I've been calling you my muse."

"Yeah, well, I don't think I make that good of a muse."

"I think you do," he said, looking at her intensely. Her blood sang.

"The name's Yuffie, like I said before," she said.

"Okay, Yuffie. Nice to meet you," he said, extending his hand. His face was stoic as he said it. She had not seen him smile once in all her time of watching him or speaking to him.

Tears prickled at Yuffie's eyes, but she swallowed her emotions, promising to herself once more that she would not cry. "It's good to see you again, Axel."

-

The next time she spoke with him, he asked her, "Were we a couple?"

Yuffie almost spat her water out. They were talking over lunch. She was still uncertain what was going on, and she knew that she was not going to make any certain decisions until she figured out what her next plan of action was.

"What?" she spluttered.

He cocked his head to the side at her reaction. "I asked you if we were a couple. You said you knew me before, but you haven't told me anything about what happened before I came here, except that I died."

"Why do you ask that?"

He looked down at his food on the table. "Sometimes I dream that…"

"Yes?" she prompted, unsure of where he was going with this.

A light pink tinge stained his pale cheeks, something that was a foreign look for the Axel she thought she knew. "Sometimes I dream that we're kissing, and sometimes, I dream of us doing…more than that."

She blinked. "Oh." She could not seem to look him in the eye. "Uh, no. No, we weren't a couple."

He nodded. "All right. But we were friends?"

She swallowed. "Yes. We were friends."

-

"Who is the man with the blue hair and the scar?"

She whipped around to look at him. They were at his shop again, only this time, she was behind the counter with him, sitting next to him. "Um, that's Saïx."

"Sometimes, in my dreams, he hurts you, and when I wake up, I want to kill him."

She snorted. "Well, he's dead now, so you don't have to worry about it." A thought struck her. "Actually, if _you're_ alive, then maybe Saïx is too. Damn, that would suck."

"What kind of person was I?" he asked.

"Uh…that's…you…" She fumbled for words, not sure what to say.

"Well?" he probed.

"That's sort of a hard question," she said.

"Why?"

"Because…you were…different. That's what kind of person you were. You were the different kind."

"I don't know what you mean," he said, looking at her blankly. He always seemed so serious, nothing like the Axel she used to know.

She laughed softly. "I don't know what I mean either."

-

"Why can't I remember anything?"

Yuffie sighed. "I don't know."

"I want to remember. I still dream about you. Why do I dream about you? I don't know anything but my name and the little you've told me." For the first time since she had found him in Agrabah, he seemed agitated.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"What's wrong is that I have no idea who I am, or where I came from, or what kind of person I am. I'm just Axel. That's it. A painter. Do I have a home? Do I have family?"

"You don't have family. And your home…well, I don't know. I don't know if you had a home. You had a _house_, but it was more like a hideout."

"I don't know what you're talking about," he snarled, his hands fisted in his hair. He looked very frustrated.

"Do you _want_ to know what I'm talking about?"

Axel looked her directly in the eye, and she was struck dumb by the emotions roiling in the depths of his gaze. The knowledge came fast and strong, from a place deep inside her—she knew then and there that he, without a doubt, _the_ Axel, even if he could not remember it.

"More than anything."

-

"Is this your ship?" Axel asked, surveying it.

"Yep. This is what we're going to be taking to get to my home, Radiant Garden. Well, it used to be Hollow Bastion. I mean, last time you were there, it was Hollow Bastion—"

"Stop. You're confusing me again. Just…let's just go."

"You've got everything in order then?"

"I've locked away my apartment, and all my paintings and the shop are packed up there. So, yes. Everything is in order."

"You've got some changes of clothes and everything else you need?" she asked.

He showed her the pack slung over his shoulder, and she nodded.

"Let's go."


	12. Chapter 12

"What do you have planned?" asked Axel from his position in the co-pilot seat.

Yuffie shrugged. "I dunno. Don't have a plan, most of the time."

"So…we just left Agrabah, you said we're going to get my so-called memories back—"

"Ah, ah, ah," she said, sticking a finger in his face and wiggling it reproachfully. He went sort of cross-eyed trying to track the movement. "I never said we were going to get your memories back."

He looked slightly flustered, opening his mouth to protest.

She waved a hand at him. "Calm down, Fire-Britches. Lighten up. Sheesh. Does ceasing to exist magically suck you dry of humor and emotions?"

Axel stared blankly back at her.

"Uh, hell-_o_," she said, snapping her hand in his face.

"Hello?" he said, almost phrasing it as a question with his tone.

Yuffie paused, frowning at him speculatively. Ever since she had first seen him at Agrabah and had come to start associating with him again, she had noticed that his emotions were painfully (for her, at least) scarce. Aside from the occasional glimmer of anger or intensity, he was almost empty, devoid of any sort of feelings. He had a slight sense of curiosity, but even that came and went in short bursts. Where was her hot-headed Axel? Where was that flaming temper? Where was his cocky sense of humor and his lazy attitude? So many things did not make sense, and Axel's almost complete lack of emotion was one of those things.

"Anyway," she said, after a moment of watching him watch her watch him. "We'll be in Radiant Garden in a few hours so don't, y'know, talk my ear off or anything. Freakin' chatterbox, that's you."

Axel nodded, his eyes far away, and he did not say more than a few words for the rest of the trip.

-

"Here we are!" Yuffie announced, twirling in place, arms flung out from here sides. "Radiant Garden, my home sweet home!" She took a deep breath, inhaling the familiar air of her home world.

Axel cocked his head at her, watching as she did a little dance in place. She turned to look at him, and he glanced away, surveying the land around them dispassionately.

"Well, don't look so _enthused_," Yuffie scoffed, punching him in the shoulder.

"Sorry," he said.

"Ugh, don't apologize!" she said, throwing her arms into the air. "Gosh, it's like you don't even know how to act."

"So—"

She clamped a hand over his mouth, staring seriously into his eyes. "I _said_ don't apologize, okay?" Slowly, from behind her hand, he nodded, and she released him. "Good, now let's get down to business."

"What are we going to do?" he asked.

"Good question! So I watched this movie once—"

"What's a movie?" he interjected.

She stared at him for a moment and then caught herself, trying to understand. Axel had only been "born" six weeks ago. He had picked up everything he had (re)learned while living in Agrabah. Despite the new paths between worlds that had opened because of the Heartless invasion, some worlds were ahead of others in technology. Agrabah was a bartering culture, dealing in trading and craft. Even though it was a hub world, the desert people there had not had the time or inclination to adopt technologies like the ones in Radiant Garden. Axel not knowing what a movie was made sense, since he was almost a newborn baby, in a way. Everything he currently knew came from living in Agrabah.

"A movie," she began slowly, "is a…um, well, it's sort of like this thing where people act out a story, only you can watch it whenever you want, as many times as you want, but it's not really—"

"Wait, wait, stop," he said. His eyes were closed, and his forehead was scrunched. "Did I know what a movie was before?"

"Hm…as far as I know. I mean, you knew what a television—"

"What was your original point in all this?" he asked, a hint of impatience creeping into his tone.

"Oh, right! One time I saw this movie about this guy who had amnesia, and his friends did all kinds of stuff so that he would remember everything, and I was thinking we could try some of their methods."

"What were their methods?"

"First, they hit him really hard over the head," she said cheerfully, cracking her knuckles against her palm.

"Hold on a second," he said, backing away from her slightly. "You want to hit me over the head? What good will that do?"

"Maybe it's like when someone is choking so you punch them in the stomach. Like, a kick-start to your dead brain!"

"But my brain's not dead," he protested.

"I beg to differ," she said, poking him in the forehead.

He let out a long-suffering sigh. "Is there any other method?"

"Let me see…ah! One time I saw this movie where these two people loved each other a lot, but they had some problems getting along and stuff, so they paid someone to use a funky machine to take away all their memories of each other."

"Why would someone do that?" he asked, confused.

"I guess they just thought it would be easier if they didn't remember all the things they had shared," Yuffie said quietly, not looking at him.

"Oh."

"Hey! I just thought of something," she said, her eyes flashing. "You didn't get your memories removed on purpose, did you?"

"If I did, I would not remember it," he deadpanned.

Yuffie opened her mouth, then closed it again, mulling that bit over. "Oh. Yeah. But if I find out that's what happened, Axel, I'll beat you into next week!"

"Okay, okay."

There was a pause.

Placing a ponderous finger on her chin, Yuffie mused, "I can't remember where I was going with all that."

Axel's eyes narrowed in annoyance, and she felt a little thrill at eliciting some emotion from him. She had noticed that most reactions that came from him were a direct result of external stimuli. Namely herself.

"It's almost like…"

He waited, watching her blankly.

"It's almost like you have _no_ personality."

"What was I like before?"

"Well, for one thing, you had a sense of humor," she said. "And let's see…you had a pretty hot temper too. We argued a lot."

"You mean we didn't get along?"

"No, we did. It was actually fun."

"How is arguing fun?"

"Why are you so slow?" she shot back.

He seemed vaguely stumped by this for a moment, considering it seriously. Then, "I'm not slow."

"That sure took you a long time to come up with," she said smugly.

He harrumphed, a flicker of annoyance stealing across his features. "Whatever. What do we plan on doing?"

Another small victory for Yuffie. "In the movie I saw, the people went backwards through the events in their friend's life to see if they could jog his memory."

"The movie about the two lovers?"

"No, the movie about the guy with amnesia."

"Oh. So we're going to do that then?"

"That's the only thing I can think of," Yuffie said.

"Then let's do it," he said. "What was the last thing I did before I turned up in Agrabah?"

"You died," Yuffie said.

He glared at her.

"What? You _asked_. That was the last thing you did!"

"Okay," he said slowly. "Then what happened before that?"

"Hell if I know. I didn't see you for friggin' weeks."

"Then _how_ are we going to do this?"

She shrugged. "I figure we'll just redo all the things you did with me. Y'know, since I'm the coolest, most beautiful, most talented, most important thing in anyone's life. We're bound to jog your memory with my awesomeness sooner or later."

He briefly squinted at her with some measure of doubt, but when he saw that she was serious, he sighed and seemed to give in, reverting back to his blank, reserved state. "Fine."

-

"Ta-da! _This_ is the last place I saw you before you ran off and died and left me to grieve for weeks." As she progressed through that sentence, Yuffie's voice grew steadily more sour. Then, she punched Axel in the chest, hard.

He grunted and hugged the spot. "What was _that_ for?" he asked, obviously angry at her.

"For leaving me to grieve for your dumb ass for weeks!" she yelled.

"I'm sorry!" he exclaimed.

"You can't apologize, you idiot! You don't even remember what happened! Apologize when we get your memories back."

"Okay."

She rolled her eyes at him. "Sheesh, you're awful at this."

"At what?"

"At this whole…relating-to-other-human-beings thing."

"Oh." He paused and looked around at the glowing crystal walls around them. "So, what happened here?"

She knocked on his head, and he grimaced at her. "You don't feel any tingling in that lump of meat?" she asked. He shook his head. "Well, this is where you told Sora that Saïx had Kairi," she explained. "Then Saïx came, and you knew I was back here eavesdropping, so you snuck up behind me and covered my mouth and dragged me backwards and talked to me about how you were leaving 'cause you had to go get Kairi back. And then I told you that I was coming too, but you told me to stay put because you would be back soon. And then…" She trailed off thoughtfully, lost in her own thoughts, eyes unfocused.

"Yuffie?" Axel prompted.

A flush rose to her cheeks. "What? Oh, sorry."

"What happened after that?"

"Well, we—that is to say, I…mean you…uh—"

"Yes?"

Yuffie threw her arms around his neck and pressed her mouth to his, making him gasp in surprise. When his lips parted, she forced his teeth apart with her tongue, caressing his mouth. The kiss was completely one-sided. Axel just stood there with his mouth hanging open as she kissed him, his face completely slack, body stiff and unyielding.

When she broke off and searched his face, probing his eyes with her own, looking for something, _anything_ to show that he remembered, she found nothing.

"Er, what was that for?" he asked, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.

Yuffie suddenly felt extremely awkward. She let go of him and stalked a few feet away, her fists clenched, trying to settle her breathing and stop blushing.

"Did I do something wrong?" he asked, obviously confused.

"No, I'm just stupid," she said sullenly.

"I don't understand."

"That was meant to jog your memory. That was what happened next."

He seemed to think about this for a moment. "I thought…you said that we weren't a couple."

She ran a hand through her hair. "We weren't."

"Then what was that? People don't usually go around kissing people if they aren't involved, do they? Or is that just an Agrabah thing?"

"I don't know what that was," Yuffie admitted. "I never really got a chance to ask you."

"Oh."

"Right! So!" she said, clapping her hands together. "Let's move on to what happens next!"

Axel did not question her any further about the kiss.

-

"Why are we back at the gummi ship?"

"Because I'm trying to figure out how to do this next part," Yuffie said.

"What is the next part?"

"Well, see, I stayed at your house for about two months."

"Okay. Where is my house?"

"I'm not really sure."

"Huh?"

"Well, you see, as a Nobody—"

"A what?"

"It's the name for what you are."

"What am I?"

"I told you a little bit about it when we were still in Agrabah. You're a being with no heart. You're incapable of feeling emotions, remember?"

"Oh, yeah."

"Well, you also sort of came with some special powers."

"Fire?"

Yuffie's eyes lit up. "Hey! Do you remember now?"

He shook his head. "No. I used to dream that I was burning, but the flames weren't hurting me even while I was on fire. I had that dream two or three times a week."

Disappointment evident in her voice, Yuffie said, "Darn."

"Did I have any other special powers?"

"Well, you could sort of…world-hop."

"I hopped on worlds?"

"You could open a portal in the middle of the air, step into the realm of darkness, open another portal, and step out in whatever world you wanted to," she explained.

"So my house…is in another world? Can't we fly to it with the gummi ship?"

"That would be a great idea—if I knew where it was," she said.

"How come you don't know where it is?"

"Well, you told me once that you actually created the place."

"The house?"  
"No, the world."

He stared at her, dumbfounded. "I had enough power to create a world?"

"You sort of said that it was a place waiting to be shaped, and you used your energy to form it. It wasn't very big, just a lot of fields and trees and streams and then your house. You even took me to the edge of it once."

"The edge of my house?"

"No, stupid, the edge of your world," she said, exasperated.

"Oh."

"We got pretty mad at each other…"

"So there's no way we can get to this place?"

"Not unless you can rip open a dimensional rift for us, Hot Pants. Care to give it a try?"

"Uh, okay. Sure," he said hesitantly, closing his eyes.

Yuffie watched him. He stood there, tensely, every muscle in his body tensed. After a few moments of awkward silence, he cracked an eye open and said, "Am I doing this right?"

"Er, well, you never really had to concentrate like that before," she said. "The portals just sort of appeared and you walked into them and vanished."

"Looks like I can't do it then," he said.

"What _were_ you doing, Axel?" Yuffie asked, an eyebrow raised.

"I was concentrating," he said.

"Oh, 'cause it looked like you were constipated."

He sighed, and she grinned.

"Maybe we can sort of _simulate_ some of the stuff that happened while I stayed with you," Yuffie suggested.

"What kind of stuff did we do together?"

"Well, there was that one time where we wrestled because you wouldn't give me back my bra," she broke off as he spluttered. "What?"

"Nothing," he said, slightly red in the face.

"I'm telling you, we weren't a couple, so stop getting those ideas," she snapped, scowling. "Right so, then there was that other time we went swimming in the creek, and we went on picnics, and I painted that picture of you, and me and you and Kairi—"

"Who is Kairi?"

"Uh, she's—oh, phooey. Never mind. Follow me 'cause I got an idea."

-

"Yuffie!" Aerith exclaimed as she walked through the front door of headquarters for the Radiant Garden Restoration Committee. "You're back! We've missed you so—" She stopped dead in her tracks when she saw Axel walk through the door behind her friend.

A few more moments went by before Aerith could collect herself enough to raise her eyebrows and say, "So…are you going to tell me what's going on?"

Yuffie scratched the back of her head, grinning. "Uh, see, that's the thing. I don't even know the answer to that, myself."

"I thought…he was dead."

"Well, up until six weeks ago, he was."

"But didn't he die six weeks ago?" Aerith seemed really stumped.

"Yeah, but he says that he came to in Agrabah, stumbling around in the desert."

Slowly, Aerith said, as if really considering the pros of this, "I guess that's good for you, then, right?"

"Yeah, only one problem," Yuffie said.

Axel took this time to interject. "I'm sorry, but have we met before? If we have, I don't remember you."

Stunned, Aerith said, "Okay, really. What's going on?"

Yuffie rubbed her face tiredly. "Yeah, can we maybe get the rest of the gang together? I don't want to have to explain this ten million times."

Yuffie slumped into a chair nearby while Aerith said, "Wait right here."

"Y'know," Yuffie said, "sometimes I wonder if you're worth all the freaking trouble."

Axel shrugged. "You got into this. I didn't force you or anything."

"Would you rather I left you in hot, smelly Agrabah, selling paintings of my beautiful self for the rest of your natural life?"

"No. I guess not."

"Well, there you go."

"Wow," came Cid's gravelly voice, "who's the freak with the weird-o clothes and the scary hair?"

"Cid," Yuffie replied lazily, "shut up."

"You go away for weeks and then bring back some guy in a funky get-up? Should've known. And also, where the hell is my ship, you thievin' brat?"

"It's out in the landing space, right outside town, just like every other ship that you have, Cid. Calm down. And quit being a jerk to Axel. He's standing right there. At least wait until he goes away before you start making fun of him, okay?"

Axel frowned slightly at her. She smiled breezily.

"Right, so, now that everyone's here," Yuffie said, "I can tell the story. Don't interrupt me, and ask questions if you want after that, but here goes."

Yuffie explained finding Axel, him not having any memories but still dreaming about her, how he ended up in Agrabah, and what their plans were at the moment. Leon, Cloud, Cid, Aerith, Tifa, and Merlin all listened with rapt attention. When she was finished, there was a pause as they mulled over the situation.

"So…you don't remember anything at all?" Tifa asked Axel.

"Nothing. Only what's come to me in dreams, and sometimes those don't make any sense, so I'm not sure they're actually memories."

Cloud frowned. "How do you even know that this is your Axel, Yuffie?"

Leon shook his head at Cloud. "Coincidences like this don't happen, Cloud."

Yuffie blinked. "You're usually way more suspicious of stuff than that, Squally."

He shrugged with one shoulder. "Even I know when something is just obvious, Yuffie, and this is your Axel, even if he doesn't know it. From what you've told me, it all fits."

"Yes, I believe Leon is correct," Merlin said, twirling the end of his beard. "There is something tricky afoot here, some reason for all this."

"I hope you guys are right," Yuffie said, looking at Axel, who was staring at her blankly. "'Cause right now, he's sort of a stick in the mud." He did not verbally object to this statement, only drawing his eyebrows together slightly.

"What are you going to do next?" Aerith asked.

"Well, there's a problem," Yuffie explained. "I can't get back to Axel's little world because I can't really…open rifts in dimensions and stuff, like he could. Or…like he used to. But I have this idea, see."

"Idea?" Leon asked, sounding skeptical.

"Hey, don't take that tone! Yes, an idea. Squally, could I use your computer?"

"Why?" His eyes narrowed.

"Don't you look at me like that. I don't ruin _everything_ I touch. Sheesh. I need to talk to Tron."

"What are you planning on doing?"

"I want to see if Tron can simulate some stuff for me."

"I'm not entirely sure what he's capable of, but he might be able to do that, to an extent. Come with me, and you can ask him about it."

Yuffie tugged on Axel's sleeve, signaling him to follow her as she trailed after Leon, into the computer room. When they entered, Leon went directly to the control panel and tapped a few buttons.

He nodded his head in the direction of the entry portal for the computer-verse. "Get in."

Yuffie guided Axel onto the platform, bracing herself a bit. She had never traveled into the cyberspace where Tron was. She knew that Sora had gone in and helped the electronic man, and she knew about Tron from what Leon had told them, but she was not sure what it would feel like to be transformed into electricity.

"Uh, Leon? Is this going to hurt?"

"It's…interesting."

Before she could protest, he tapped a button on the keyboard, and Yuffie felt a curious sensation begin at her head and travel down to her toes very quickly. Her skin tingled a bit, then she felt as though she was drifting apart, like her very essence was leaking out of the seams, and suddenly, she felt the same again, and when she looked around, she was in a small room with a computer terminal, and she was wearing a glowing blue body suit. Axel looked about the same, and he was blinking in a bewildered manner. He looked to her for help, seeming very confused and lost.

"What just happened?"

"We're in a computer."

"What is a computer?"

She sighed. "You're hopeless."

"May I help you?" a new voice said.

A pleasant-faced man, wearing a blue suit striped with glowing lines—just like the ones they had on—was standing in the only doorway to the room they were occupying. He looked utterly unremarkable, but Yuffie got a feeling of intelligence and kindness from him.

"Uh, yes, we're looking for a guy named Tron," Yuffie said.

"You're in luck," he said, smiling. "I am Tron."


	13. Chapter 13

A/N: _There's a lot more prose in this chapter than usual, and I apologize for that. Lots of explaining what's going on and making sure everyone understands. Also, zombie!Axel makes for less-fun-dialogue. Sorry._

_Know what else I am sorry for? This chapter taking so long. I've been caught up in school and a MAJOR project that screamed to be written. But don't worry. I've said it before and I'll say it again—this fic is my baby, and I've planned it from start to finish. And finished it will be._

_Enjoy chapter 13._

-.-

"I'm Yuffie, and this is my friend, Axel," she said to Tron. "And we sort of need your help."

"Nice to meet you, Yuffie, Axel. I am very happy to help you with whatever is in my power. What can I do for you?" He smiled at them, and Yuffie could not help but smile back.

"It's kind of a long story, but here's a short version." Yuffie gave him an abbreviated story, explaining why she needed to know if Tron could simulate things.

"What type of things do you wish for me to simulate?"

"Well," Yuffie hedged, "I'm talking big things here. Like…a smallish sort of…environment."

Tron nodded. "That is within my power, yes."

"So I just describe it to you, and you cook it right up?" she asked.

"We can do that, which is the hard, inaccurate, and ultimately, quickest way to go about it," Tron replied.

"Or, we can go about this process in the more time-consuming, more accurate way."

Yuffie arched an eyebrow. "And what way would that be?"

"Would you like to see? I can explain it to you while we make our way to the machine."

Yuffie nodded. "We can do that. And, uh, machine?"

"I shall show you," he said. "Come with me."

"You heard the man, O Talkative and Energetic One," she said to Axel. "Explain this process to me, Tron-Man," Yuffie said as they followed him.

"I am taking you to a machine that will allow me to, for the most part, directly link my databases with your mind."

"Databases?"

He hummed thoughtfully. "You see, I am not human, and I do not have a mind so much as a core functioning center of information and operations. Your brain works in different, more mysterious, and less organized way than my Central System does."

"Oh," she said, trying to wrap her head around the concept. Tron seemed human enough to her, but then again, he _was_ living inside a computer.

"Yes," Tron said. "The human mind transmits and organizes data in its own, efficient systematic way. However, I, as a program inside this computer, cannot completely comprehend this system. As a nonliving being, I have trouble accepting data directly from a human mind."

"I can see how that might work." She was starting to understand now.

"So the machine that I am taking you to can actually process data directly from your mind and reorganize it in a way that my computerized system can handle and understand. In the same way, this machine works in reverse, and if I wanted to transmit data to you for some reason, it could perform that function."

"So why haven't you used this machine before?" Yuffie asked, glancing behind her to make sure Axel was still there. She imagined it would be easy to lose him in the glowing and disconcerting hallways, and he was so silent she sometimes forgot that he was there.

"I have, but you have never seen it done, and neither has Leon or any of your other friends. It is an extremely time-consuming process, and there really has been no need for it as of late. Ah! Here we are."

They had arrived at a glowing door with a keypad on the wall next to it. Tron placed his equally glowing hand on the panel there and then punched in a very long sequence of numbers. Yuffie's eyes almost crossed at the sheer amount of them.

"How the heck do you remember all of those, Tron?"

He smiled placidly at her. "I am a program, remember?"

"Oh, right. I forget sometimes."

Yuffie's eyes widened when they lit on the machine. "Uh…"

Tron cleared his throat. "Yes, it is rather large and complicated, isn't it?"

"I'll say," Yuffie replied.

Most of the smallish room was filled by a nest of cords running around the room. Snuggled into the bed of wires, at one point, was a chair. Further to the right of that was some sort of control panel with buttons all over it. Tron traveled to that panel, pressed some buttons, and the machine came to life with a deep hum and a flickering of lights.

"All right, Yuffie," Tron said. "If you will just have a seat in that chair, I will get this started."

Yuffie did as he asked, settling into the cold metal chair with a slight grimace. She glanced at Axel, and as usual, he was standing there with a slightly vacant expression. "Axel," she said, getting his attention. His green eyes settled on her. "While I'm under, stay there, okay?"

"Yeah."

Tron started attaching something to her head—something that was made of metal with lots of tiny wires and cords attached to it. She arched an eyebrow as he fussed with it, making small, rather human noises of thinking. It was amazing that he could seem so human.

Tron went over to the control station and placed his hand on a panel similar to the one that had opened the door. It lit up, and as it did so, he turned to her. "Any more questions before we start, Yuffie?"

"Yeah, just one," she said. "Is this going to hurt?"

Tron hesitated. "I am told that there is some pain for the human side of this."

"'Some pain'?"

"Well, you see, I don't feel pain as human beings do because I am a computer program, so I go only by word of mouth."

"What kind of pain?"

"I am told there is a slight, er…pinch."

As she opened her mouth to protest, Tron hit a button on the console, and her voice was choked in her throat. In slow motion, she saw Axel's eyes go wide, surprising her, and then, it felt as though her brain had exploded and was melting out of her ears in a gooey trickle, leaving a burning trail of agony in its wake. She couldn't scream, so she passed out.

-

Yuffie came to—if you could really even call it that—in a very strange situation. She was not awake, per se, but she felt…aware. She felt as though she were existing in an enormous black void. She was not so much awake as she was conscious. They seemed to be two different things.

_Yuffie?_

She heard a voice. Or, well, not heard, but received and processed. It was not so much a voice as a message that came to her.

_Yuffie, if you can hear me, that means that you are aware of this process. You are functioning with your thoughts only, inside your mind in a way. You cannot see, smell, hear, feel, or taste right now. Your body will not move besides involuntary functions. If you understand, try to send a message to me._  
Yuffie tried to move her mouth to say, "I get it, Tron," but she could not feel that she had a mouth to move, and nothing happened. Instead of focusing on speaking, she focused on thinking a message, forming it with her mind, and then sending it toward Tron, wherever he was. This time, she registered some sort of change, a disturbance in the environment around her.

_I understand you, Tron, but I don't know if I'm doing this right._

_You have managed a successful information transfer, Yuffie, and that was the easy part. It's good that you've caught on quickly. Now comes the hard part._

_Hard part?_

_Yes. We are going to have to access your memories of what you want me to simulate for you. What I want you to do now is envision this place as fully and as detailed as you can. Are you ready?_

_Ready, Tron-Man._

Yuffie concentrated, shaping Axel's pocket dimension as best she could. She saw the quaint little house with the green shutters and wide porch with the sloping roof and the white banisters. She saw the tall, swaying grasses and the wildflowers speckling the fields. She saw the ground sloping downward into hills and valleys and a little forest with a sun-dappled creek. She saw the inside of the house—the kitchen, the living room, her room, Axel's room, Kairi's room, all of it. She saw a canvas on the porch, paint drying in the breeze. Last of all, she saw the edge of the world crumble away into a swirling, dancing darkness.

_Thank you, Yuffie. You've been very thorough. And as you have pictured this, it has opened your memory 'vault,' so to speak, allowing me to completely access these scenes. Now, you must tell me. Will you mind if I rifle through these memories to get a complete picture of what you want? I do not want to intrude into your mind any more than I already am._

_No, Tron, that's fine. The closer this simulation will be to the original, the better. Go right ahead._

_Thank you._

Before she could understand a change, Yuffie found she wasn't just picturing those memories anymore, she was full-on reliving them. She was in her own place as she laughed with Axel, hugged Kairi, dangled on the edge of the world, socked Axel in the mouth, ate spaghetti, jumped for her shorts, fought with Saïx. This recreation happened so quickly that she did not comprehend what had happened until it was over.

_Thank you, Yuffie. That is just what I needed, and I think you will find the simulation to your satisfaction._

_All right, awesome. Are we finished?_

_As long as there is nothing else you would like to show me, then yes, we are finished._

_Nope, we're done here. How do we get out of this place?_

_We aren't in a place, Yuffie. We are in your mind._

_I get that, Tron, but I don't really know what to call it. Just…get us outta here, mmkay?_

_No problem._

-

Yuffie's eyelids fluttered, and she heard someone sigh with what sounded like relief.

Vision refocusing, she frowned. "Axel?"

"You were out for a really long time," he said with a very slight amount of concern. More and more, it seemed she was eliciting emotion from him. She wondered if this was a good sign.

"How long?"

"I don't know. A long time."

She realized that he was kneeling next to her and that she was still sitting in the chair from before.

"Approximately two hours," Tron said, and Yuffie's gaze shot to him. She hadn't realized he was there.

"Oh, wow," Yuffie said. "I guess I see now why you don't normally use this clunker."

"Hm, yes, the pain associated with it, and the time it takes, as well as the strange nature of its inhibitors. How did it feel?"

Tron came over and removed the metal headpiece, so she scratched her head where it had been. "It hurt like a bitch."

"I am very sorry about that, though I do not comprehend pain the same way you do. I am told it is unpleasant."

"Uh, yeah," she said, her head spinning. Understanding him took a lot of patience and out-of-the-box thinking. "Yeah, that's one way to put it."

"Are you ready to go start the simulation, Yuffie? Is there anything else you would like to show me?"

She shook her head. "Not that I can think of, Tron. Lead the way."

Axel trailed after her as she followed Tron down another set of twisting, glowing hallways and into another room with a keypad lock. When they entered this particular room, there was nothing of note except more curiously glowing lines on the walls and a small panel of buttons sitting at an intersection of many of those lines. At every intersection besides that one, there was a small, glowing glyph on the wall. Each one looked like a set of three concentric circles, with a small, convex sphere at the center.

"Yuffie, Axel, if you will place your hands at any of the glowing nodes on the walls, we can begin the simulation," Tron said, waving his hand. Yuffie went first, Axel following suit, and she felt the glyph warm under her hand.

"All right, now you needn't do anything for a few moments. Just relax."

Then Tron placed his hand on the panel, and Yuffie's mouth dropped open as he and the room around them vanished, only to be replaced by wide, grassy fields and a beautiful blue sky. The wall and the glyphs beneath their hands were gone, and Yuffie could not feel hers anymore. They seemed to be standing with their arms held out to nothing.

"Uh, Tron…" she said.

"Yes, Yuffie?" She heard his voice from all around them.

"Are you, like, God now or what?"

Tron chuckled from all directions. "No. I have just incorporated myself into the computer's systems in order to create this illusion for you. Now look to the left."

Whipping her head around, Yuffie gasped. Indeed, to the left had materialized Axel's house. Or at least, a replica of it. Down to the very last detail, it was a perfect imitation of it.

"Wow, Tron. Can I put my hand down now? I look like I'm high-fiving my imaginary friend or something."

"Yes, Yuffie, you may put your hand down now. Though, really, you won't actually be putting your hand down."

"Um…_what_?" Yuffie said slowly, her face contorted in confusion. For once, even Axel looked perplexed.

"What's Tron talking about?" Axel asked.

"What I mean to say is, everything you are experiencing right now is a simulation, an illusion, and it is taking place inside of your minds."

"Inside of our minds? I mean, both of us? At the same time?" Yuffie asked. "How?"

"Yes, both of you at the same time," the omnipresent voice of Tron said. "Those glyphs you placed your hand on actually link you to the computer, which, in turn, links you to me because _I_ am linked to the computer through my control panel."

"So…if I do _this_," Yuffie said, doing a series of cartwheels through the high grass, "then I'm not really doing this?"

"No, you are not. In reality, you are still standing at the console with your hand to the glyph. This is all happening inside your head."

"And if I do _this_," she continued, walking over to Axel, "it's not really happening?" She grabbed him by the ear and twisted, hard.

He yelped and attempted to squirm away as she started giving him a noogie. "Yuffie, cut it out!"

"Aw, calm down, Smokey, it's not _really_ happening…"

Tron cleared his invisible throat. "Yuffie, he _can_ still feel pain. Every sensation that you would normally experience outside of your mind? You can still experience those here."  
"Oh," Yuffie said, releasing Axel with something like regret. "Sorry, Axel."

He rubbed his scalp and winced. "Yeah. Sure." She blew a raspberry at him.

Tron cleared his throat again. "Would you care to get started?"

Scratching her head, Yuffie said, "Y'know, I really don't know where to start." Then she realized they were still wearing their strange, glowing clothing. "Hey, Tron, can you change our outfits to something we wore while we stayed in this house?"

"Done," he said, and sure enough, Yuffie found she was wearing a simple outfit, consisting of a black tank top, gray soft shorts and little tennis shoes. She patted her head and grinned to find a headband tied into her hair.

"Whoa, cool," she said. "Hey, Axel, how d'you like the new digs, eh?" There was no answer. "Axel?" She stopped looking at her clothes and directed her gaze toward her silent companion. "Hey, what're you—"

Axel was staring at his clothes with a completely blank look on his face. His eyes were wide, and Yuffie could see the whites around the perimeters of his irises. He didn't even look like he was breathing.

"Um, Axel? Are you all right?"

"Yuffie," Tron said, sounding a touch concerned, "should I end the simulation?"

"No, Tron, don't. Not yet. I think…I think we're finally making a breakthrough. Putting him in this environment, in these clothes, has done something to him. Whether or not it's a _good_ something—well, I guess we'll just have to wait for a few seconds and see, huh?"

"As you wish."

Slowly, Yuffie approached Axel. He did not move. He did not acknowledge her approach at all. When she was sure that he was not with her at all and that talking to him was not going to make him surface from his stupor, she tentatively reached out a hand and gently, very lightly, ran her fingertips down the side of his face.

"Axel," she said softly. "You have to try to remember. I know you want to. I know you're in there _somewhere_."

When he still did not reply, she put both hands on either side of his face and said his name one more time. He blinked, his eyes refocusing and his head snapping up. "Yuffie?" he questioned.

"Right here, Axel."

"Why are you touching my face?"

"The lights were on, and no one was home, Hot Pants. I had to see if you were going to come out of it."  
His eyes clouded over once more, but this was not in the same way as only moments before. This was the fog of confusion and thought. "I saw…"

"What did you see?" she asked, dropping her hands.

"Men, and maybe a woman or two, all wearing black. Clothes just like what I'm wearing." He gestured at his newly materialized Organization XIII standard issue uniform. "We were in a castle, made all out of white."

"Is that all?"

He shook his head, frowning, not looking her directly in the eye. "There was a boy. Well, not really a boy, but…a teenager. He had blonde, spiky hair, and his name…was…"

Yuffie had to restrain herself from saying anything. She could've cried she was so relieved. If he was remembering things, even _this_ vaguely, that meant that this was the _real_ Axel, the one and only, her friend.

"His name was Roxas," he said after a few long moments. "Yes, Roxas. I think…he was my friend."

In a fit of delight, Yuffie threw her arms around his neck. "I knew it was you!" she shouted. "There was no way it wasn't you!"

Axel carefully extricated himself from her arms, clearly uncomfortable. "Who were those people? Who is Roxas?"

"This is what I've been trying to tell you this whole time, you big, fat dummy!" she cried excitedly. "You have a past! You're a person with a past and something to look back on. And I _know_ you. And you know me!"

His eyes were wide again. "I guess you were right. But why am I remembering this now?"

"Because that outfit you're wearing was what you _always_ used to wear."

"And," Tron's voice added, "being in this environment in familiar clothing with familiar company is probably helping to put you in just the right frame of mind—the state that will help you ease into remembering your past."

"Uh, okay," Axel, said, blinking, totally baffled. But baffled was better than nothing, Yuffie decided, considering his earlier disposition had been mostly blank.

"Well, let's get a move on then, Charred Doofus," Yuffie said, heading to the house. She got all the way to the wide porch before she stopped in her tracks. Axel ran into her back with a soft grunt.

"Hey, Tron!" she said. "We're missing something, but I can't put my finger on what."

"It's more like 'who,' Yuffie," said a young female's voice.

Yuffie's head whipped to the right, where Kairi was suddenly standing at an easel, with a palette of paint in one hand and a dripping brush in the other. She smiled at the two of them, cocking her head in that particular way that Kairi did when she found something funny.

"Uh, Tron-Man, is that—"

"She is not the actual person, Yuffie, so don't worry. If you were to touch her, she would feel real, and she functions as a normal person, but I have to confess her character and looks are based completely on the memories you have shown me. I will do my best to keep her true to form."

Yuffie was still shocked. "Trust me," she said, struggling to keep her mouth from hanging open, "you're doing a _great_ job. I would tell you if you weren't."

"Thank you, Yuffie," Tron said brightly.

"So Axel—Oh. He's zoning again."

Axel was staring at Kairi with that faraway look again, completely blank, eyes enormous. This time, though, he snapped out of it without Yuffie's help.

"K—" he stuttered, squinting with the effort of trying to remember her name. "K—Kai…Kairi?"

"Hi, Axel," she said. "Something the matter?"

"Nothing's wrong," Yuffie said, grinning. "He's just a little slow. Come on, Axel." She took his arm and led himself into the house. "It's about time you started acting like yourself again. In fact, I think we should go on a picnic. How does that sound?"

"Picnic? Why does that sound…familiar?"

She threw back her head and laughed, and it felt very, very good. "You'll see."

-

As their reenactment of Yuffie's days living with Axel and Kairi progressed, Axel began to seem more and more like himself. There were still some things missing, and he still seemed more lost than anything else, but it was progress, and that was what counted to Yuffie.

The fact that Tron had completely and perfectly replicated the inside of the house as well as Axel's pocket dimension really helped, Yuffie thought. For some reason, Axel was buried down there beneath the trauma of his death and rebirth, and after she had him back, she was going to do her level best to figure out what had happened to make him that way.

He had started to remember who she was in bits and pieces, especially after remembering their fight (and at this, Yuffie commented with something along the lines of, "Sheesh, it figures you'd remember the _bad stuff_ first, you freakin' girl.").

At one point, Yuffie asked Tron to simulate a version of Saïx that she could reenact her fight with, and the consequences were almost disastrous. Sim-Saïx did everything he was supposed to, and Yuffie had no trouble dancing circles around him, especially a second time, but Axel clutched his head and fell to his knees with a cry of what sounded like pain.

"Axel!" Yuffie shouted, and before she could think, she had faltered, and Sim-Saïx's claymore was swinging straight for her face. Before she could think to dodge, before she could think to block, something happened to Axel, almost like it was in slow motion.

Yuffie saw several things in less than a second. Axel's eyes flew open, sharp and focused, and his brows came down into a fierce, determined expression. With a snarl, he actually somersaulted in her direction, coming to stand in front of her with his arms crossed in front of him, ready to ward off a blow.

Fortunately, that blow never came. Sim-Saïx froze in place, and Tron's voice sounded. "Axel, it's all right, I would not have allowed Yuffie to come to any harm."

Axel's breathing was short and shallow, his eyes huge. "All—…all right."

Slapping a hand jovially down on Axel's shoulder, Yuffie chirped, "I didn't know you cared, Axel."

He shrugged, seeming perplexed. "Funny. Neither did I."

_Now that's the Axel I know,_ she thought with a smirk.

"What?"

"Oh, nothing."

"No, really, _what_?"

"Don't look now, Axel, but your personality is showing."

He scowled at her.

-

Yuffie really wasn't sure how long they were inside the simulation, but when she ran out of significant things to reenact, she figured it was time to go. They had all the time in the world to keep trying to jog Axel's memories, and she was sure Tron would not mind letting them come back to try again someday.

"Hey, Axel, maybe we should take a breather, eh?"

He looked at her quizzically. "But I thought we were finally making some progress."

"Well, yeah," she hedged, "but, y'see, the thing is that I'm out of things to replay in this particular place. I mean, we can't possibly redo everything happened over those few months. I thought of all I could so far, so maybe we should come back later when we're feeling fresh. Is that cool, Tron-Man?"

"That is perfectly 'cool,' Yuffie," he answered, letting her slang roll off his tongue in the way that your mother or father might try to sound young.

"Uh, yeah, awesome," she replied, trying not to laugh.

"One moment, and I will exit us all from the simulation."

Almost immediately after he said that, the strange illusions faded and Yuffie and Axel were left standing at the wall with their hands outstretched, touching the nodes. They dropped them at a look and a nod from Tron.

"How much time has passed, Tronny?" Yuffie asked.

"Approximately thirty minutes," he replied.

Her mouth dropped open. "What? It felt like we were in there for hours!"

"In reality, it was only the simulation that made it feel that way. You are able to do things at a very high speed inside your mind."

Yuffie stared at him, opened her mouth to ask what the hell he was talking about, and then decided better of it, turning to Axel instead. "So, how ya feelin', Smokestacks?"

He grimaced. "I'm not sure. I've got all these new things crowding around in my head, but they're really vague and disjointed. It's like…I'm missing something, like the glue that holds it all together. There's still some empty parts."

Tron hummed. "I don't know if further simulations will help you, Axel, but you are free to come back whenever you need my assistance. I will be happy to help you in any way that I can in the future."

"Thanks a heap, Tron," Axel said, giving him a small smile. He turned to Yuffie. "So…now what?"

"Now? We can go back to Headquarters and chill for a while, that's what we do."

-

"Yuffie," Axel said.

"Eh?" she asked, looking away from the television long enough to acknowledge him, sitting in the easy chair across from her. They were in the relaxation room for the Restoration Committee, kicking back.

"I'm bored," he said, giving the television an almost disdainful look. "And I feel like I can't sit still."

"Probably all that crap floatin' around your little pea-brain," she said, grinning.

He rolled his eyes at her. "Can we go for a walk or something?"

"Sure thing, Axey-waxey."

He made a gagging noise at her. "Do not _ever_ call me that again."

She fluttered her eyelashes at him daintily, clasping her hands next to her face. "And why not, Axey?"

"Because that's just…disgusting."

"Let's go for a walk, Soot-Foot."

"Finally," he sighed.

She snatched up her shuriken for insurance and took a winding path to the bailey, their first meeting place. She wasn't sure what led her there, but it was the first place she thought of.

Leaning against the ruined wall, Yuffie stared out at the huge expanse of the gorge. She still had a hard time comprehending that Sora had fought a thousand Heartless there. The sheer number of them boggled her mind. Even though he had mowed that many down, they still appeared there in large numbers, drawn to Radiant Garden like moths to a flame. Luckily for the people of her world, the more powerful and numerous Heartless rarely strayed past the rocky cliffs of the gorge into the more populous areas of the town.

She felt Axel come up beside her, just barely seeing him out of her peripheral vision. He looked even stranger in his Agrabah-style clothes now that she had, once again, seen him in his customary Organization XIII uniform.

"This place," he said, breaking the comfortable silence, "seems familiar after all that stuff in the simulator." She swiveled her head to study him. He didn't meet her eyes, gazing out into the gorge as she had only seconds ago. His face was pensive, reflective.

"It should," she replied. "You've been here before. It's kind of an important place."

"What happened here?"

"Well, some of your old buddies came along and sort of demolished it."

"Oh, yeah?"

"Yeah, and then—"

"_Yuffie, watch out_!"

Axel tackled her to the ground, rolling them down the hill below the crumbling bailey wall. They tumbled off the edge of the first cliff, but before they could be sent off into the air to land and possibly seriously injure themselves, Yuffie felt herself being jerked to a halt.

Axel had her by the back of her shirt, and he was hanging onto the edge of the precipice with one hand, looking extremely strained. Acting quickly, she shouted up to him.

"Axel! I'm going to climb up your body!"

"_WHAT_?" he gasped.

"Just try to hold on," she urged him, and intercepting any protests, she scrambled as fast as she could up his back and over the ledge. Just as his fingers slipped off the rocks, she whipped around and grabbed his hand in hers, hauling him back up onto solid ground.

"You idiot!" she panted. "What were you _doing_? You could've killed us both!"

"Yuffie, look!"

He was pointing over her shoulder, back up the hill toward the bailey. She turned, and her eyes widened, her hand going straight to the shuriken strapped to her back.

"Oh, fuck," she said.

"Yeah, uh, what do we do?" Axel asked, his voice shaky.

"Well, for starters, I suggest we get away from the edge, and second, I think you should learn to fight again."

"When?"

"Like. Now."

Yuffie inched away from the cliff face and spread her feet, bracing herself for the oncoming fight. Rushing straight toward her and Axel were about a dozen Morning Star Heartless.


	14. Chapter 14

A/N: _As a special treat for the first chapter in a month or so, here is a fanart that lynnreist did for me, on request. It's amazing, and it's TNTK themed. Have a looksee, leave her a comment, let her know if you like it, mmkay?_

_This is the link, so just take the "dots" out and put in actual periods, put actual backslashes in where it says "slash," and make sure to remove the spaces. _http : slash slash celulind dot deviantart dot com slash art slash The-Need-to-Know-93289751

_Also, I would like to think that this chapter is what you were all waiting for._

-.-

"_Well, for starters, I suggest we get away from the edge, and second, I think you should learn to fight again."_

"_When?"_

"_Like. Now."_

_Yuffie inched away from the cliff face and spread her feet, bracing herself for the oncoming fight. Rushing straight toward her and Axel were about a dozen Morning Star Heartless._

Yuffie grabbed her large shuriken from its harness on her back, whipping it to her front. With a glance to her left, she saw that Axel was still just standing there, only he had a dumb look on his face like he had no idea what to do.

"Axel!" she screamed. "What are you doing? Get your shit together, and get ready to – _ack_!" Yuffie cartwheeled out of the way as one of the Morning Stars started to spin toward them, its humongous arms kicking up air and debris. Axel took a hit straight to the chest and was about to get run over by the other ten Heartless headed their way.

"Get up!" she bellowed. "You're gonna get killed, you idiot! I didn't do all this work – " She paused to deliver a cutting blow to one of the Heartless – "just so you could die _again_!"

"I don't know what the hell I'm supposed to be doing!" he shouted, rolling to the side in a lucky move that saved him from being crushed. He scrambled to his feet as fast as he could and did the only thing he could think of – he ran away.

Yuffie decided he had the right idea and tried to follow, but she found her way cut off by six spinning Morning Stars. "_Shit,_" she gasped, trying to find an opening, hacking and slashing as she went. But these Heartless had metal bodies, and even though Yuffie's boomerang-shuriken was extremely sharp and well cared-for, cutting them was hard. She could not hope for any sort of opening to use her All Creation, either. Not until she had picked off a few of them. Her throwing stars were useless.

_I could really use one of Axel's awesome flamey-attacks_, she thought as she somersaulted underneath one of the Morning Star's flailing arms. Unfortunately for Yuffie, she did not realize until it was too late that the Morning Stars were backing her into a corner against one of the bailey walls. In a dazzling acrobatic move, she kicked her foot off the wall and tried to flip over to the other side of the mass of whizzing, whirling machine-monsters, but she failed to pass all of them and landed in the middle.

She cried out in pain as she was struck from three different sides by the spinning arms. Her vision went fuzzy at the edges, and she had the vague thought that this felt like being in a blender with extremely dull and maybe even well-padded blades. Trying to pull herself together, knowing that her life was, y'know, on the line and stuff, Yuffie rolled underneath the range of the attacks from the Morning Stars and followed Axel's lead – she ran as hard as she could, trying to keep a good hold on the shuriken as she wheezed around the pain in her body.

Yuffie was not certain, but she thought her ribs might be bruised or possibly even slightly broken. The only way she was still moving was pure adrenaline from the thought that she was the only fighter between her and Axel.

She would have just run to the sanctuary of headquarters and let that be the end of that, but a dozen Morning Stars could not be defeated by their defense system, and the citizens of Hollow Bastion would be in danger if the Heartless were left loose. Not to mention, if they did not injure anyone, they would surely contribute to a lot of property damage.

"Axel!" she shrieked at him. He was standing at a safe distance away from her and the Heartless, obviously frightened and frustrated that he could not assist in any way. "Since you can't fight, stay back! I don't want you getting hurt."

Yuffie was going to do her best to try to summon an All Creation before they could get to her. It would be a long-shot, but it was all she could come up with, and her shuriken was not doing much good on over ten of the monsters. Bracing herself, knowing in her heart of hearts that this was not going to work, she focused her spirit energy into the weapon in front of her. It began to hum and spin, just getting to the part where it was going to start glowing when she was knocked out of the way by a Morning Star.

Her shuriken flew off in the opposite direction of her, and she felt herself being hit from all sides, suddenly blinded b the extreme pain from the force of the blows. Yuffie tried to scream, but the air was knocked completely out of her lungs by one of the club-like appendages coming at her.

_Great_, she thought as her vision started to sparkle. _I come all this way to protect Axel, and then _I_ get killed. Oh, the irony._

As she was slipping into unconsciousness at the relentless battery, she heard Axel shout, and she struggled to fight off the heavy feeling in her brain. _He's in trouble, I need to help him, I'm his only hope – get up, get up, GET UP, DAMMIT!_ She was mentally screaming at herself, but it was not helping. And then, the Morning Stars stopped attacking her and focused their attention on something else.

_Shit, they're going after Axel_, she thought, groping blindly for her shuriken, only then realizing that it was some twenty feet away. As she tried to crawl her way toward it, she searched for Axel in the crowd of Morning Stars.

She was stunned when, from the middle of the pile, a column of brilliant, white-hot flame surged toward the sky, melting at least four of the mechanical monsters and sending the other seven or eight scattering. Leaping high into the air, Axel, with a look on his face like murder incarnate, put his hands together in front of him and blasted another plume of flame into the monsters. They had learned from the first time, however, and were ready for that, scampering out of the way. Yuffie had the vague, murderous thought that they were way too light-footed for how heavy they looked.

Axel sprinted over to her, looked down to see if she was all right, then faced the hoard before them once more. Now they were angry and injured, and the Heartless were buzzing to kill them. To make it worse, the Morning Stars had drawn the attention of quite a few smaller Heartless that were biting at the bit to munch on some of Yuffie's and Axel's vital organs.

"Axel," Yuffie breathed. "You…did it."

"Not quite," he snarled, and then, before her eyes, he spread his feet, spread his hands, and let loose a burst of spirit energy that she recognized. It felt familiar, and she knew why as soon as his twin chakrams materialized in his hands, spinning and wickedly sharp, gleaming as if eager for blood.

He smirked briefly at her, then turned his attention to the fight. Leaping into action, he yelled, "_Now_ I did it!" And then he let loose.

Yuffie was not very good at magic, and she was not carrying any sort of potions on her, but she reached down inside, to that secret pocket that every person carried in their spirit energy, and she channeled it, trying to imagine the cool, minty feeling of a healing spell enveloping her. The visualization always helped make it happen – there! A tiny tinkling and magical sparkles burst above her head, spreading the spell over her body and healing any abrasions, bruises, or broken bones that she had.

Struggling not to get distracted by how Axel was intensely fascinating during battle, Yuffie looked for her shuriken. Her eyes landed on it, laying some fifteen feet to her right, and she ran-jumped-cartwheeled-back-handsprang her way to her weapon, scooping it off the ground and going to work.

In her moment of vulnerability, bending to grab her shuriken, she had been surrounded by five Shadows and a Knight or two. As she dipped low, thrusting her weapon out in front of her and performing a cutting spin that would make a prima ballerina proud, she idly wondered where all the Heartless were coming from.

Having no time to contemplate that, she quickly moved on to helping Axel. When she cut into a Morning Star in just the right spot, it cracked straight down the middle and started to smoke. She rolled in the opposite direction, then sprang into a run and dove straight into Axel, knocking him out of the way as the mechanical Heartless exploded, littering parts everywhere and giving off a wave of searing heat and oily black flames.

"Whoa!" Axel shouted. "Warn me before you do that!"

"No time for that!"

They were back to back, hacking, slashing, throwing, ducking, shooting off great gouts of flame – though that was more Axel's thing than Yuffie's. At one point, when a Morning Star leaped into the air above their heads and was about to come down in a body slam that would have crushed them both, Axel unhesitatingly grabbed Yuffie by the waist and threw his body against hers, pushing them both out of the way. They landed in a painful tumble, end over end until he forced them to a stop. Still on the ground, he held onto her with one arm and hoisted them to their feet, then into the air, and then even further into the air using a giant blast of fire.

When they landed again, he released her, and she twirled off into a series of moves that would have made a Dancer Nobody jealous. Between bouts of swiping and ducking, she watched as Axel lived up to his title. He was like an extremely graceful predator in battle, absolutely lethal but wondrous to watch. With a feral snarl on his face, he thrust both of his hands straight out at his sides, chakrams brandished, and in a move that almost made her jaw drop, he spun, shooting flames out of his limbs wildly. The technique created long, whipping tentacles of fire, incinerating anything within a ten foot radius of him.

The massive gang of Heartless was diminishing. Yuffie took a few of the smaller ones out with well-aimed throws of her little stars, cackling triumphantly all the while, feeling like, finally, they were going to come out of this alive, and that maybe, just maybe, there was hope for them after the battle was won.

"What're you laughin' about?" Axel called, grinning from ear to ear as he blasted a Morning Star to bits.

"I had an idea!" Yuffie replied.

"Oh, yeah?"

There was one last Morning Star left, as well as some miscellaneous low-level Heartless. With a long, piercing shriek, Yuffie sprinted across the distance between her and Axel. His eyes widened fractionally as he watched her rapid approach. Somehow, maybe from watching the way her body was tensing, maybe because he was just that good at sensing her intent after all this time, he guessed what she was going to do and bent at the waist, offering his back to her in an almost parallel-to-the-ground position.

With a hop and a skip, Yuffie had placed her right foot onto Axel's back, bent at the knee. Using her momentum and the force behind the jump, she launched herself into the air like a rocket, meeting the Morning Star's anticipated body slam attack head on. She did a turn in mid-air, shuriken brandished in front of her, its points horizontal. By infusing her weapon with spirit energy, she cut through the Heartless's metal body like butter, cleaving it in two. Its halves landed on the ground, far from each other, and exploded, taking out any and all of the remaining Heartless.

Yuffie contorted her body, turning her whirl into a flip that landed her on her feet on the stone below, amidst the wreckage and carnage that she and Axel had created. Several carcasses from decimated Heartless were still on fire, and many of them were smoking or oozing black fluid.

Straightening, the ninja turned to look at Axel, covered in dark Heartless blood, his clothes covered in smoke-stains and soot, his hair looking a little singed. Met with that sight, pumped up with adrenaline, still high from battle, Yuffie started to chuckle. Then she started to laugh harder. Then she was guffawing, hard, with tears running down her face. Belatedly, she realized Axel was laughing too, unable to control himself.

"I take it," she choked, trying to calm down, "that you remember everything now?" She had actually collapsed to the ground in a heap, unable to stand. Axel was bent over, his hands clutching his middle, his face wet from tears.

"That," he laughed, "would be about the sum of it, yeah."

"Good," she gasped. "I was getting tired of changing your diapers and feeding you milkies."

"Ah, shut the hell up," he panted. "How was I supposed to know I was going to come back to life and basically be a zombie?"

Finally able to breathe normally, Yuffie said, "Well, at least you found out you had some talent besides bad jokes, angst, and the amazing knack for blowing shit up."

"Pfft," he scoffed. "I have plenty of talent – you just can't see it because you're blinded by my perfection. Anyway, I don't know why I picked you as my constant subject to paint."

"Because I am so overwhelmingly hot and fantastical," she said, flipping her hair dramatically.

There was an abrupt pause as they stared, suddenly very aware of each other. Swallowing, Yuffie said,

"Axel…what do you remember?"

Something flashed in his vibrant eyes, and he said, his voice quiet, "Everything."

"How?" she whispered. "How are you here?"

His face fell. "That's the one thing I don't know."

Running a hand through her hair, Yuffie suddenly realized that not only was Axel dirty, but she was filthy as well. Before they tried to figure out what was going on, she figured they ought to go clean themselves up.

"This will go a lot more smoothly if we're both clean and a little more relaxed, I think," she offered.

He nodded, looking relieved. "You're right. We can go shower, then?"

"Yeah, let's do that."

-

When they walked into the front door, they were met with three pairs of very stunned eyes. Cid, Aerith, and Merlin all stared at them from their various places around the room.

"What the hell happened to y'all?" Cid asked, his grizzled face contorted into an expression of incredulity.

Axel coughed, and Yuffie shuffled her feet, scratching at her arm. "Well, you see…we got attacked by a shit-ton of Heartless…and then…uh…"

"Yes, I think what happened after that is obvious," Merlin chuckled.

Shrewdly, Aerith surveyed the fire damage to Axel's clothes and the soot covering both of them. "I take it that you've…recovered, Axel?"

Axel smiled, his teeth white against the black smears on his face. "You could say that, yeah."

"And now," Yuffie said loudly, cutting into any further questions anyone might have, "me and Axey here are gonna go take a couple o' showers and get this crap off of us. We'll talk about everything else later, mmkay, pumpkins? All righty then."

Ignoring them, she pulled Axel through one of the doors and into the hallway, relieved to be away from the prying. She was sure they would get bombarded with inquiries that they probably wouldn't be able to answer later. For now, she just wanted to take a steaming hot shower and relax.

As they walked down the narrow hallway, they came to the main bathroom. They had more than one room with a shower and a toilet at headquarters, what with the amount of people that stayed there and how often that had guests in need of lodging, but this was their biggest one. It had the roomiest shower – one that was actually also a tub – and it was the most trafficked of their three bathrooms.

Yuffie showed Axel into the room and gestured. "_Just_ this once, I'm going to let you use the best bathroom we have. But _only_ because I want to celebrate your recent return to having an IQ above negative five. Got that? This is the only time." She glared at him. "I will be taking one of the small bathrooms."

"Gee, you do me a favor, and then you make me feel bad for accepting it?" he asked, sneering half-heartedly at her.

"Yes," she said. "'Cause that's how I operate, Hot Pants."

"Yeah, yeah, show me where the towels are, smartass," he drawled.

"See these cabinets?" she asked, strolling over to them. She flung them open, revealing the array of toiletries and towels. "You'll find everything you need in here."

She heard the click of the door closing. "Great," he said, his voice suddenly very close to her ear. She realized his chest was almost touching her back, and the hairs on her bare arms rose, prickling in an almost pleasant way. "Looks like I have everything I need."

She turned around, her face now very close to his, their noses inches apart. "Hey," she said softly, "I just realized. You can heat your own water."

"Yuffie," he said, his voice husky, sending a thrum through her, "I've got my memory back."

"No duh," she said, feeling oddly like they were standing on the cliff's edge of something very important.

"I remember _everything_," he reiterated.

"I noticed." She was very aware of how close he was and how she had missed seeing his eyes so lively and intelligent.

"Which means," he drawled, sending something like electricity zipping down her spine, "that I remember what it felt like to kiss you."

"Is that so," she said, agonizingly slowly, her eyelids fluttering.

With something like a growl, he seized her by the waist and pushed her against the exposed shelves, his tongue invading her mouth, hot and intoxicating. With a moan, she arched against him, not entirely sure what was happening or why, but knowing that she really liked it.

"Axel," she gasped as he nipped and licked his way across her jaw, "what are you doing, you jerk?"

"Kissing you, stupid," he muttered. His tongue snaked along the shell of her ear, and she gasped.

"You're an asshole," she spat, deciding to give him a taste of his own medicine. She grabbed him by the fabric of his shirt and shoved, pushing him hard into the wall. This only seemed to excite him further as he pushed back.

"Why?" he asked. She felt his hands, warm and battle-roughened, on her stomach as they stumbled backwards. The backs of her knees hit the rim of the bathtub, and they fell sort of painfully over the lip and into the bowl of it.

"Because you fucking _died_," she said, her hands up his shirt and tweaking his nipples almost painfully, "and then you didn't remember a damn thing. And when I tried to kiss you, you rejected me. And now you're making out with me, and – " Here she yelped slightly as he cupped her right breast and ran his tongue down her neck. "Dammit, way to send mixed signals, you bastard."

Yuffie managed to put enough force into her pushing to flip them over so that she was straddling him, and he let out a throaty moan as she ground her hips into his. In the process of their roll, someone had hit the knob on the faucet and turned on the shower. Hot water was landing on them, plastering their clothes to their bodies and making the friction between them all the more exciting.

She kissed him wetly, roughly, biting at his lip hard enough that he yelped and bit back. Without warning, he wrapped his legs around her waist and flipped them again, so that he was on top. He let the length of his body rest on top of hers, and he tucked his face into her neck.

Wondering why he had stopped so suddenly, Yuffie stopped her onslaught, her hands snaking out from where they had been playing with the band on his pants.

"I'm confused," she sighed.

"Yeah, me too," he said. "I'm just so happy to see you that — "

"You want to rip all of my clothes off and take me right here in the tub?"

He growled, a sound that made her whole body pulse. "Something like that."

"Then why'd you stop?" Yuffie was surprised that she felt disappointed.

"Because," he said, resignation in his voice, "I don't think we should do this now."

"Why not?" There was a disturbing note of whine in her voice.

"Because…I think it'll just complicate things further, and we just don't need that right now," he said.

"Oh crap, since when were _you_ the voice of reason, Axel?" she spat, frustrated. "Gah, I think your head's still messed up."

"Yuffie," he said, looking her in the eye. "I think we're both very confused right now, and if we still want to later, I'm all for it. Right now, I want to get off of you – "

"Really?"

"Okay, no, not really, but I _should_ get off of you and send you out so we can both get clean. Maybe a shower will clear our minds."

"I think my mind is clear enough," she protested.

"Yuffie," he said, warning in his tone.

"Fine," she said, squirming out from under him. Before she could escape the bathroom, feeling mortified, he grabbed her by the arm and halted her. She looked back, him in the tub, she out, and he leaned down, his hair sticking to his face and his eyes bright, and kissed her slow and deep.

"Okay," she said softly. "You'd better not pretend none of this happened or go and die on me right after kissing me."

"No, that definitely won't happen again," he said with half-lidded eyes. "Now go take a shower before everyone wonders if we got washed down the drain."

Yuffie left the bathroom, closing the door behind her, noticing that she was tracking water behind her as she traveled. She took an ice-cold shower to calm herself down, and when she got out and toweled herself dry, she thought about whether or not she wanted to kiss Axel again.

_Yep, still wanna kiss him. So much for his theory that we might be confused and stuff. Wait, what if he doesn't wanna kiss me anymore?_

Then she walked down the hallway in a halter top and short shorts and bumped into him, still in his towel, and the look he gave her erased any doubts that he had been confused about kissing her. He halted any advances she might have made, however, when he said, "Uh, can we get me some clothes that don't have holes in inappropriate places?"

Yuffie wiggled her eyebrows. "I dunno, I really like what's going on here." She looked him up and down suggestively, from his shapely calves, to his bony hips, to his taught, muscled abdomen, to his angular shoulders, and finally, to his dripping, slightly red face.

"Like what you see?" he smirked, not entirely convincing due to his blush.

"Pfft, no," Yuffie said. "Leon's way hotter than you."

"I'll kill him," he deadpanned, "and then we won't have to worry about that."

She rolled her eyes and said, "Let's go get you some clothes, and then I think it's time we all sit down and have a nice family chat. How's that sound?"

"Terrifying," Axel replied dryly.


	15. Chapter 15

A/N: _Hello, readers, sorry for the wait. I had an extra day this weekend, and since I updated my other much-neglected fanfic, _A Whole New Level Of Insanity_, I decided TNTK was due for another chapter._

_This chapter was fueled by mountain dew and chocolate. WOO! Also, with the help of Dr. Wicked's Write or Die, I have churned out two thirds of the next chapter as well. It won't be long now, readers._

-

"So I guess you've got your memories back."

Once again, all of the members of the Radiant Garden Restoration Committee were gathered in one room, waiting to hear an explanation from Yuffie. She wondered if this was going to become a regular thing, like – oh, hey, something absolutely ridiculously improbable has happened to Yuffie again, guys. I'll make the popcorn, Leon, you go get the drinks ready, and we'll all sit down and listen to her version of events. Yay!

Tifa, Aerith, Cid, Leon, Cloud, and Merlin were all sitting, perched, or draped lazily on various pieces of furniture in their TV room. She had already taken the time to introduce all of them to Axel (and since they already knew who he was, it made her job easier).

"Yeah, that's about right," Axel replied, looking at Leon. "Thanks for the clothes, by the way."

"No problem," Leon said, one eyebrow quirked.

Since Axel's Agrabah ensemble had been singed in several places and was basically un-wear-able, Yuffie had had to borrow some clothes for him from Leon. Cloud was a little too small for Axel, and even though Axel was skinnier than Leon, the clothes fit mostly. It was either that or he could wear Merlin's robes, and Yuffie highly doubted that was going to fly.

She was supposed to be explaining what had happened to them and why Axel had his memories back, but she found she was a little too distracted by Axel's new clothes. She had always thought that Leon looked a little girly (what with the fur collar and his feathered hair cut and stuff), but there was no denying that mostly, Leon knew how to dress, even if it was a little outlandish, and Axel was reaping the benefits of Leon's closet.

Leon definitely had a thing for belts. In fact, they were a big part of what Axel was currently wearing (in no small part because if he didn't have them, the pants would probably be falling off of his rather narrow hips). Three or four belts were wrapped nicely around the waist of the black, many-pocketed jeans Axel had on. Thankfully, Leon hadn't lent Axel anything with a faux-fur collar, but the black hooded jacket was a nice touch, and the forest green t-shirt really brought out the electric color of Axel's eyes.

"I take it Tron helped out," Tifa said.

Axel nodded. "Yeah, he did. That wasn't all, though."

"And I'm guessing that whatever else happened has to do with how you two looked when you came in a few minutes ago," Leon said.

"Hey, kid," Cid interjected. "Stop starin' at flame-head over there long enough to tell us what the hell's going on around here."

Yuffie stuck her tongue out at him. "Ah, shuddup. I haven't seen him in so long, I'm allowed to stare once in a while, old man."

Axel stage-whispered to Cid, behind his hand, "Can't blame her for checking out the goods."

Cid made gagging motions with his finger toward his mouth, while Aerith giggled and Yuffie flipped him off.

"Anyway," Yuffie said, exasperated, "we went for a walk after we got out of Tron's chamber, and we got attacked by some Heartless."

Alarmed, several of her friends leaned forward in their seats. Cloud said sharply, "Heartless? You guys looked pretty beat up; just how many were there?"

Yuffie bit her lip as Axel said, "We were attacked by twelve Morning Star Heartless and various smaller ones – Shadows, Knights, you know the kind."

Leon stared thoughtfully at the floor, frowning, as he said, "That's actually a lot more than usual."

"Our defense wouldn't've taken that many out," Cid said. "One or two Morning Stars on their own is almost too much for the system."

"I can only imagine how disastrous twelve free-running Morning Stars would be to the people around here," Tifa said. She looked worried.

"That's an unusually high amount, though," Aerith mused. "I wonder what drew them here so suddenly. Do you think it has to do with Yuffie and Axel?"

Axel shrugged. "I don't know. I've never had Heartless come after me before, and I can't think of what the difference would be now."

"Well, I've never seen anyone come back from the dead either, so I wouldn't discount any theories at this point, as farfetched as they may seem." Merlin stroked his beard the way he always did when he was thinking hard about something. Yuffie wondered if all men with beards stroked them when they were thinking. Maybe it was a universal bearded man thing. Maybe old men got together to have strokey beard meetings just to look cool. She'd have to remember to ask Merlin about it later.

"So fighting these Heartless triggered your memories?" Aerith asked, looking at Axel.

"More like seeing Yuffie get the shit beaten out of her triggered them."

"I almost died while you were running around pissing your pants, y'know," Yuffie replied, poking him in the shoulder.

He rolled his eyes. "Yeah, I know. Your pansy screams are what made me remember how to fight. Remind me to keep you around. I think the source of my power might be you being a loser."

"Jerk."

Axel laughed. Yuffie noticed that her friends were staring at them with various looks on their faces, ranging from smirks, to outright grins, to twinkling amusement.

"What?" she snapped.

"Oh, nothing," Tifa said, grinning. "Anyway, we're glad you're back, Axel. Yuffie was really torn up when you died. Wouldn't come out of her room for days."

"Tifa!" Yuffie growled. "Shut up."

Echoing Yuffie from moments ago, only sounding a lot more innocent, Tifa said, "What?"

Turning to her, Axel said, "You were, eh? I knew you missed me."

"I did not, you ass!"

"Oh, yeah? Then why'd you steal one of my ships and go haring off into the wild blue yonder?"

"And how come you cried so much?"

"And how come you were up every night drinking chocolate milk, which you only do when you're sad?"

"Everyone, shut up!" Yuffie covered her ears and sang, "Lalalala, I can't hear you, I can't hear you, I can't – "

"Yuffie," Axel said, taking her hands away from her head. "I'm sorry."

Confused, Yuffie said, "What? Huh? What've you got to be sorry about? I don't know what you're talking about."

"I left you and never came back, and – "

Looking around at all her friends, each one of them watching with intense curiosity (or what she had come to identify as curious in the cases of her more stoic friends, like Leon and Cloud), Yuffie said, "Drop it, Axel. We'll talk about this later."

Shaking his head, seeming to remember there were other people in the room, he said, "Right. So..."

"What are you going to do next?" Leon looked at Yuffie and Axel with piercing intensity. "Have you considered the possibility that if Axel has returned from the dead, that the other Organization members might as well?"

"Shit, they may already be back, and we just don't know 'cause they're all after Sora," Cid said.

"Oh, no," Tifa breathed. "What if something's happened, and it's already too late?"

"No," Axel said, shaking his head. "If Xemnas or Saïx were back, we would know by now."

Cloud hummed in agreement. "Think about it. The world would probably be falling apart around us."

"Exactly. If any of my former allies reappear like I have, then we'll know when they do."

"That is, if they have their memories." Yuffie massaged the bridge of her nose. All this craziness was starting to hurt her head. She wondered why she wasn't used to it by now. "You were like a freaking zombie."

"I still can't figure out why I'm even alive again in the first place," Axel said. "I'm exactly the same as I was before."

"Still no heart, eh?" Leon asked.

Yuffie noticed Axel was wearing fingerless gloves as he laid a hand over his chest and said, "Nothin'." Some feeling like disappointment washed over her. She couldn't quite figure out why. I have Axel back, almost whole, she thought. Why should it matter if he has a heart or not?

Axel interrupted her thoughts when he said, "I'm guessing by the state of affairs – you know, how all the worlds haven't been overrun by Heartless and everyone's hearts haven't been stolen and all – that Sora went on to defeat my former teammates."

Yuffie patted him on the arm. "If it hadn't been for you, he probably would've been killed too."

His eyes a bit shadowed, Axel said, "Good. I... I'm glad." Shaking off whatever was bothering him, he continued. "I wonder... do you really think it's possible that any of 'em are back?"

Leon shook his head at the same time Cloud said, "Probably not. If they have returned, and they have no memories, there's no reason to bother looking for them."

"Besides," Merlin added, "if that's true, they most likely do not have anyone around to jog their memories."

"Yeah, and getting you to remember anything was backbreaking work, if I do say so myself," Yuffie said, wiping imaginary sweat from her brow. "And I don't think it's just because you're a dummy either."

Axel poked her in the side by way of reply. "Even if we did go looking for them, there's no telling where they would be. I mean, how I ended up in Agrabah, I have no idea. It's not like I ever spent any memorable times there, and I had nothing to draw me there, that I know of. If my former teammates have been resurrected somehow, there's no telling where they ended up in all the worlds."

"And it might take years to find them if you did try looking," Aerith said.

"Ain't worth it." Cid took his toothpick out of his mouth and reshaped the chewed end.

"So the next thing to do, I guess, is figure out why I'm here, and they're not," Axel said.

"Assuming that they're not, that is." Yuffie wondered at how easily he was talking about the fact that none of his companions were alive. Surely he had had some attachment to at least a few of them...?

"Right. Assuming they're not." He didn't look at her. "Let's hope they're not."

There was a short silence as everyone contemplated this question. Aerith was the one to finally break it.

"There must be some key difference between you and the rest of the others." Her tranquil green eyes settled on him, appraising, thoughtful.

Axel shrugged. "Dunno. I mean, I can't really see what it would be."

Shrewdly, Aerith said, "I can think of maybe one thing."

And she looked at Yuffie.

"What?" Yuffie looked back at her, eyes wide. "Me? What does that have to do with anything?"

"You love Axel, right?"

Yuffie's heart skipped a beat, and the air grew tense as everyone, Axel included, looked right at her. She blushed to the roots of her hair and started to splutter. "I – I mean... that's..."

Aerith giggled. "Oh, calm down, silly. I mean he's your friend! You love him like you love me or Tifa, right?"

"Oh."

"I didn't mean to put you on the spot," Aerith said.

"Boy, I didn't know you could blush like that," Axel observed. "Do it again. I want a replay."

"I can't blush on command, idiot!" Yuffie shoved him.

"Okay, okay, calm down. I was just curious."

"So do you?" Tifa prompted.

Yuffie scratched the back of her neck. "Well..." Axel stared at her, suddenly very interested in her response. "Yeah. Axel's... one of my best friends."

"I figured as much," Aerith said, "with the way you grieved for him. He wasn't just some person you felt bad had died."

A shadow flickered through Axel's green eyes, and he looked away from Yuffie then. Yuffie patted him on the head. "Hey, cheer up, bucko. You're here now, right? No reason to get all Debbie Downer on me. Oh, gee, you're not gonna cry, are you? Ew, I hate it when girls cry."

He punched the soft skin above her elbow. She punched him in the side.

"Aw, lookit the widdle kids flirting," Tifa teased.

"Yuck, get a damn room already," Cid said, rolling his eyes. "I'm tired of all the sexual tension in the room."

"Whatever, old man. You're just jealous I'm not lavishing my awesome attentions on you. I know, I know, you cry yourself to sleep every night because I don't return your feelings, but – "

"I'll kill you!"

"Ahem."

They all directed their attention to Aerith. She crossed her arms impatiently, and they all looked away, sheepish.

"Back to what I was getting at – Axel, did any of your former teammates have any friends?"

Axel pondered this for a moment, then slowly shook his head. "No. Not that I knew of, at any rate. Mostly we just associated with each other – any 'friends' we had were our teammates, and I use that term here very loosely. We couldn't really... trust each other. Even I did some pretty terrible things to the people who were supposed to be my allies."

Aerith nodded. "I think the key difference between you and them, Axel, was your friendship with Yuffie."

"And Kairi," Yuffie said. "And maybe even Roxas."

"If that's true, then why isn't Roxas back too?" There was an undercurrent of pain in Axel's voice when he said the name.

Yuffie put a hand on his shoulder. "Because Roxas was Sora's Nobody. He had a heart to reunite with, and as far as we know, you don't."

"Of course," Axel sighed.

Once again, there was a pause as everyone thought this over. No one seemed to have anything else to say on the subject. Yuffie thought that maybe they had reached the extent of their knowledge about it, that they would need more information if they were going to figure anything else out about this.

Slowly, she said, "Who says... that we have to make any sort of move now? I mean, we could... we could just be happy that you're here at all, that you've been granted a second chance. We could just stay here and enjoy that fact. Heck, we could have sleep overs and do movie nights and play board games and have pillow fights and even set you up a room and get you a dog or something!"

"Yuffie," Axel said softly. "I have no heart."

"Sure you do!" she cried. "You're a great friend. You've protected me I don't know how many times, and you care about people, like Roxas and Kairi and – "

"Yuffie," Axel said, more firmly this time. "I know it seems that way, but... I can't really care about someone unless I have a heart. We've been over this. Those emotions are feelings I remember from when I had a heart. I'm not actually experiencing them."

There was pain in his eyes as he said it, pain in the way he held himself, pain in his voice, but if he had no heart, how could he experience that pain, how could he show it in every way at that moment if he had no heart to make those emotions? Yuffie just didn't understand, and she hadn't so many months ago when Axel had first explained it.

"I don't believe it, Axel, I just don't. It doesn't make sense – the way you act, the way you look and sound and seem like you're feeling things, there's no way that you're not – "

Axel seized one of her hands then, quick as a flash, and placed her palm flat on his chest, where his heart would be. His face was smooth, so calm he could have been doing something as mundane as reading a grocery list. "What do you feel?"

There was nothing there. No heartbeat, no rhythmic thumping, no pulse of life. He was as warm as he always was, like a normal human. He was even breathing like a normal human, and Yuffie knew that Nobodies bled – she had seen it – but there was no heart to pump that blood.

"Nothing," she said, voice almost inaudible.

Hoarsely, he said, "Exactly. I don't really even need to breathe. It's just force of habit."

She did not reply, and the silence stretched, bringing her attention to the fact that everyone in the room was watching, all quiet, all obviously sensing Axel and Yuffie's shared pain.

"Then it's settled!" Aerith suddenly said. "You have to go find Axel's heart!"

Cid yelled, "What the hell're you talkin' about!" at the same time that Leon said, "Hmph," while Cloud asked, "Is that even possible?"

Merlin said, "Excellent, what a delightful idea," and Tifa nodded emphatically.

Axel and Yuffie just gaped at her.

"So... what you're saying is... you think we should find my heart? The heart that was stolen from me who-knows-how-long-ago? The heart that I don't even remember having?"

Aerith waved her hand dismissively. "You make it sound like it can't be done!"

"That's because I'm pretty sure it can't, Aerith," said Leon.

Merlin threw his hands into the air excitedly. "Nonsense! Who says it can't be done, Leon?"

"Have you ever heard of that happening, Merlin?"

"Sora's Nobody did it," Aerith said.

"Roxas." Everyone looked at Axel. "You're talking about Roxas. But that's because he had a heart to go back to. Sora still had his heart. A Heartless somewhere has mine."

"That doesn't mean you can't still look for it. What if you could get it back?" Tifa looked at him intensely. "If there was any chance you might be able to find it, would you go for it?"

"Wait, wait, hold on!" Axel exclaimed. "We don't even know the reason I'm here at all. We don't know for sure that my former companions aren't alive, and despite the fact that chances are slim that they might remember, it's still a possibility."

Leon spoke, the cool head of logic as usual. "As much as I'd like to think that you can go searching for your heart, Axel, I don't know if there's anything more than the slimmest chance you would be able to find it."

"You're right," he said. "I think our first concern is to figure out why I'm here, and to make sure that they aren't also back for some reason."

"So how would we figure that out?" Yuffie said. "It's not like we can just go to the library and check out a book on Heartless and look it up in the chapter labeled 'When Your Dead Nobody Friend Suddenly Comes Back From Beyond the Veil and Wants to Hang Out and Stuff'!"

"A book..." Merlin muttered, tugging at his beard again.

"Yeah, a book, as in, there isn't one that has what we're looking for. It was just an example, Merlin."

Merlin's eyes lit up. "No, no! What about the Ansem Reports?"

"That's right!" Tifa almost shouted. "Wasn't Sora collecting those?"

"I believe he gave them to King Mickey for safekeeping," Leon said.

"I don't know if Ansem would have known anything about this," Axel said. "This might be the first time this has ever happened."

"Yes, but that doesn't mean you can't try," Aerith said.

Before Axel could protest any more, Yuffie broke in. "What do we have to lose, Axel? And King Mickey needs to know about this anyway, in case some of your old buddies really are alive."

"You can at least go to Disney Castle and see what he has to say about it," Tifa said.

"He knew Ansem the Wise better than any of us, and Ansem was the one who knew the subjects of Heartless and Nobodies and Darkness like the back of his hand," Merlin said.

Warming to the idea, Leon said, "Yuffie's right. He'll need to be warned about your return so he can prepare himself for any eventualities. Sora will probably need to know as well."

"If nothing else," Aerith said, "maybe King Mickey will be able to point you toward someone who does know something, yeah?"

Yuffie's gaze met Axel's, and he stared searchingly into her face for a few moments. He seemed so solemn, like there was something weighing him down since he had returned to himself.

"Oh, man, you Charred Doofus! Why ya gotta be so serious all the time, eh? It's not like we have anything better to do, you know! I say we get this show on the road, and pay ol' Mouse Ears a visit. What d'ya say, hmmm?"

A grin cracked across Axel's face, and he brushed a strand of hair out of Yuffie's eyes as he said, "When do you want to leave?"

"Cid, when can you have a ship ready for us?"

"I'll race ya, kid. We'll see if you're packed and ready by the time I'm done havin' my crew prep a gummi for you."

"You're on, old man," Yuffie whooped. "C'mon, Axel, we've gotta steal some more of Leon's clothes for ya!"

"Now wait a minute!" Leon protested.

Yuffie dragged Axel out of the room, laughing as she ignored Leon's grumbling.


	16. Chapter 16

Yuffie sighed and relaxed into the co-pilot's seat, seemingly boneless. She never had been a huge fan of flying, seeing as she was easily motion sick. She always breathed a sigh of relief whenever one of the gummi ships she was in would break through the atmosphere of the world; at that point, the flight would go a lot more smoothly, and she would breathe without feeling like she was about to puke her guts out.

Axel turned to look at her when he heard the small sound, gazing at her contemplatively.

"What?"

"Yuffie, I'm sorry. I'm sorry I left you. I'm sorry I died. I'm sorry about all of it," he said suddenly, the words coming from him explosively. A pang went through her at that, and she could tell the subject was really bothering him.

She waved a hand in his direction. "What're you apologizing for? It's not like you knew you were going to die or anything."

"But... they said you grieved. They wouldn't have mentioned it unless it had been bad."

"I didn't leave headquarters for three weeks, and I rarely ever left my room, really," she confirmed almost conversationally.

He looked pained for a moment, then he engaged the auto-pilot controls and lurched out of his seat and into hers, settling himself on the arm of her chair. They ended up in a rather uncomfortable position, with his body twisted around at the torso so that he was slightly bent over her, staring into her eyes intently, shadowing her face with his head and his immense hair.

"I'm so sorry to have caused you pain like that. I had no idea that you... that you felt that way about me."

Angrily now, she shoved him in the chest. He would not be moved, though. "How could you have no idea? Are you stupid? You were – are – my friend, Axel. When Sora told me you died... I couldn't take it. I had nightmares."

"Nightmares?"

"Yeah, nightmares, that's what I said."

"About what?" He frowned, searching her face.

She swallowed thickly at the memory of her recurring dreams. "I dreamed... that you were bleeding all over the place. There was so much blood," she whispered. "Blood everywhere, soaking you and me and everything, and you said... you would say, 'You killed me, Yuffie.'"

"No," he croaked.

She nodded, squeezing her eyes shut, closing out the look of pain on his face, not wanting to talk about this with him. "And then... and then I'd say, 'No, I didn't, I didn't kill you, Axel.' And you would cough, and there was so much blood, so much, and you would say, 'No, but you might as well have.'"

She felt his hand on her chin, lifting her head.

"Yuffie, look at me." When she did not, he repeated himself, softer, pleading. "Yuffie, please."

She opened her eyes, and hot tears started to slide down her cheeks. "I wasn't there to save you, to help you. What kind of friend am I? I should've been there. I should've been there to give you a helping hand."

He shook his head sadly. "No, there wasn't any way you could have been there. You didn't do anything wrong. There's no reason for you to blame yourself for any of this."

"Goddammit, I should've been there!" she yelled, pounding a fist into the arm rest next to her. She planted her hands on his chest and shoved him, hard, freeing herself from the trap he had made with his body and the chair.

Yuffie scrubbed hard at her face as she walked a little ways back, into the open area in the cockpit. Determined not to look at him, determined to get herself under control, she crossed her arms and just focused on steadying her breathing and swallowing her turmoil. She was getting rather good at it after her recent experiences.

She was only a little startled when she felt a pair of warm arms slip around her waist, drawing her backward into a hard chest. Axel's sharp chin dug into her shoulder, and she felt his breath against her ear as he nuzzled into her hair.

"Why're you so affectionate, eh? What, does dying make you super cuddly or something? If I had known you were going to just spring up from the dead like 'la la la here are some flowers, Yuffie, by the way how have the last few weeks grieving for me been,' I would've killed you months ago. I like the effect it's had on you."

His voice vibrated through his chest and into her back, a pleasant rumble, when he spoke next. "Before, I had you all to myself for months, and I never did a single thing about it. I'm not going to let that happen again. I'll take advantage of whatever time we have."

She turned in his embrace, facing him. "What do you mean, 'whatever time we have'?"

He shrugged, his eyes flickering away from her face. "I don't know what side effects dying and coming back might have for me. What if this isn't permanent? I still don't have a heart. I can't possibly exist like this forever, Yuffie. I don't age. I don't change at all."

She threaded a hand into his hair, jerking hard and feeling a little satisfied as he grimaced. "Don't you dare talk like that, you idiot. We're going to figure something out."

His mouth a grim slash, he nodded. "You're right. We'll find a way to fix... this."

"'This'?"

Axel was leaning closer to her now, bridging the gap between them. "Us. Me. All of it."

"The more you talk, the stupider you sound," Yuffie said, lifting an eyebrow at him.

"Pfft, that's exactly how I feel about you, you know." He was so close, she could feel his warm breath fanning over her lips, and the green of his eyes was becoming an unfocused blur.

"Liar. There is not a single person in existence who would want to do without the awesomeness of my presence and hear the pure greatness that pours from my brain and out through my mouth."

"Funny, that sounds a lot like garbage, pouring from your brain and into your mouth," Axel said, his eyes half-lidded, sending a thrill down her spine.

"Oh, dear god, just shut up."

"Oh, yeah? Make m – mmph! Mmmm..."

He hummed appreciatively into her mouth, the sound traveling down her throat and pooling warmly in her belly. _Axel may not have a heart_, she thought, _but oh unholy tap-dancing Xemnas, does he ever know how to kiss._

-

"Yuffie!" croaked a familiar voice. "And... Axel?" This time, that familiar voice contained less happy surprise and quite a larger measure of suspicion and disbelief.

"Hey! What're you doin' here!"

Yuffie grinned, waving merrily at Sora's two best friends. "Hey, you guys! It's okay, we come in peace!"

Donald and Goofy had reached them at a run and pulled to a stop a few feet away, weapons drawn.

"Hey, hey, where's the love?" Axel asked, holding his hands up in a placating gesture. "I did kinda save your lives, y'know. Just sayin'."

"Er, yeah, no offense or anything, but from what I hear, Axel sort of sacrificed his life – er… un-life – to save you guys." Yuffie grinned, scratching the back of her head.

At this, Goofy said, "Oh, that's right!" He laughed in that weird, clumsy way he had, and Yuffie warmed to him. She always had liked Goofy. "I remember now. Sorry, Axel, guess I'm just used to ya bein' the enemy an' all."

Donald narrowed his eyes and squawked, "Goofy, don't let your guard down! What if it's a trap! What if he's controlling her mind?"

"Aw, c'mon, guys, I never had mind control powers. I just set crap on fire, you know that."

"Well..." Donald said slowly. At an urging gesture from Goofy, he lowered his winged wand. "I guess you're right. But no funny business!" He added the last part quickly, shaking his wand at Axel.

Yuffie snickered behind her hand, then, unable to resist anymore, launched herself at Goofy and gave him a great big hug. And when she was through with that, she attempted to serve Donald a great big helping of noogie sandwich, with him kicking and squawking the whole time. She could hear Axel's suppressed laughter.

"Say," Goofy said suddenly, "I thought you died, Axel. You disappeared and went all smokey-like and said all those nice things about Roxas."

Yuffie gave up on torturing Donald as the duck said, "Yeah, what's the deal?"

Axel shrugged. "That's kind of what we're here to find out. Me and Yuffie gotta talk to King Mickey. We thought, of all people, maybe he would know something about this."

"If you're back, does that mean the other Organization members are back?" Donald asked, alarm ringing through his comical voice.

Yuffie answered this time, her voice grave. "We don't know, Donald. That's the problem." She brightened. "But if they are, we're all set to kick their butts from here to Atlantica! 'Cause I'm..." She paused dramatically. "... the Great Ninja Yuffie, Her Awesomeness Supreme!" At the last part, she struck a pose, pointing triumphantly toward the sky.

All three of her friends stared at her.

"What?"

Axel shook his head as Goofy said, "Gee, Yuffie, that's a real neat title you got there. Wish I had a title like that. I'm just Goofy, his Majesty's Captain of the Guard. I ain't got nothin' like Awesomeness or Supreme in my title."

"Well, wait'll you get a load of Flame-Brain's official title," she said, jerking her thumb at Axel.

Donald said, "Didn't you want to see King Mickey?"

"Right, the king! Yes, we'd really like to see the king now," Axel said quickly, his voice a little higher pitched than usual. Yuffie turned her sudden laugh into a cough and ignored the poisonous look Axel sent in her direction.

"Right this way," Goofy said, gesturing for them to follow.

-

"Goofy, Donald, what are you -- Yuffie!" King Mickey said with surprise in his voice as they entered his library, where he was poring over some books. "Axel?" he said, a question, as well as unease, in his voice. The mouse's eyes narrowed, and a keyblade materialized in his hand. "How is this possible? How are you here? Why are you here?"

For the second time in the past twenty minutes, Axel held up his hands in a gesture of good will. Goofy repeated Yuffie's words from earlier. "They come in peace, Your Majesty."

Yuffie, trying to demonstrate, walked slowly over to Axel and clasped hands with him, threading her fingers through his own.

Mickey did not relax, but he studied them for a few moments. "Yuffie, should I trust him?"

"King Mickey, I know it looks strange, but Goofy and Donald must have told you about how Axel saved their lives -- "

"And Sora's too," Goofy said.

"-- and Sora's too," Yuffie repeated. "Plus... he's my friend. He's saved my life plenty of times now. I promise you can trust my judgment. Axel's not going to do anything wrong. Besides," she added, voice chipper, "if he did, I'd kick his ass!"

"Gee. Thanks," he deadpanned. One of his eyebrows twitched.

"No problem, Honey-Pie-Snookie-Wookie-Cuddly-Bear -- "

"Oh, ew, stop, please stop before I puke." He made gagging motions with his finger in his throat.

"Oh, yeah, what do I care about your gag reflex?"

"I'll throw up. On you."

Throughout this exchange, King Mickey's keyblade had lowered until it was resting on the floor, and then it vanished altogether, gone until he should call on it again.

Eyeing them shrewdly, he said, "If Yuffie trusts you, Axel, then you're welcome in my court."

Yuffie only just managed to hold in a giant sigh of relief. She knew that, regardless of what exactly came next, they were most likely going to need Mickey's help with it in some way, shape, or form. Things would definitely go more smoothly with King Mickey lending them whatever advice he could in their future endeavors.

"Thanks, Your Majesty," Axel said. "I... I want to apologize for – "

Mickey held up a hand, turning his head away slightly. "Save it. You made up for any past transgressions when you sacrificed your life for Sora and my men. There's no need to apologize."

His eyes widened, but Axel swallowed anything else he may have intended to say and just nodded. Yuffie's heart warmed.

"Now," King Mickey said, "why don't we make ourselves more comfortable, and then you can tell me why you're here and how you managed to be, well... alive." He smiled, and Axel grinned back.

-

Yuffie downed the tea she had been given – heedless of the fact that it was still almost hot enough to singe all her taste buds off – welcoming the wonderful, relaxing feel of the hot liquid sliding down her esophagus. She also knew that tea was energizing -- this day had been long, and was not over yet. The couch beneath her was squishy and comfortable, but not so comfortable that she was going to fall asleep.

She listened to Axel explain what had happened for the second time that day. The story was coming out more concise and to-the-point this time. She supposed it was easier to tell it a second time, after enduring all the initial questions that resulted from clumsy storytelling.

When he finished spinning the yarn, King Mickey set his cup of tea on the small table between them, and said, "What about the other Organization XIII members? If you're back, what about the rest of them?"

Axel's black-clad shoulders shifted up and then down again. "I don't know. That's one of the reasons we're here. We wanted to ask if you'd seen or heard anything suspicious."

The mouse king shook his head. "No. No one has reported anything strange to me, and there have been no disturbances that I know of."

"It's possible my former teammates are back but have lost their memories, like I did," Axel suggested.

Mickey rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Hmmm. Yes, that is possible. In any case, I don't think that's something we can worry about actively. If the other members of Organization XIII are back and looking to cause trouble, then they'll make themselves known sooner or later. We'll just deal with that eventuality if it comes to that."

"Sounds good to me," Yuffie said.

"What else did you need?" Mickey asked. "You mentioned another reason for being here."

"So, about that," Yuffie said. "We were sorta wondering, you being a good friend of Ansem the Wise for a while and all, if you might know of any reason that Axel just sort of skipped out of the land of the dead all sunshine and butterflies, with no ill side effects except for the lost memories."

Mickey shook his head, ears wiggling a little. "Nothing in Ansem's reports say anything like this, and I don't remember reading or hearing about anything like this either. Ansem didn't know as much about Nobodies as he did about Heartless, and even his knowledge there was limited."

"I guess when you're messing with something you've never seen or heard of before, something you don't really understand completely, you're blundering around in the dark," Axel mused.

"That's exactly right."

"We had something else to ask you, Your Majesty," Yuffie said suddenly. She felt Axel's eyes on her, and she felt his anxiety at what he knew her next question would be, but she pressed on. "Do you think – well, that is to say… do you know if it would be at all possible to get Axel's heart back?"

Mickey's eyes widened. "Get… his _heart_ back?"

She nodded slowly, aware of how impossible it sounded. "Yeah. He doesn't have one, of course. It was stolen from him. So I wanna know whose ass I gotta kick to steal it back."

For a few long moments, Mickey stared fixedly at his hands, obviously thinking very hard. Hesitating, he said, "I don't know if that's possible. I've never heard of it happening – except with Sora and Kairi, and even then, those were such strange circumstances."

Yuffie looked at Axel, distress in her features. "So what do we do now? Who do we go to next?"

King Mickey coughed. "Well. I have an idea."

Yuffie's and Axel's eyes were suddenly on him, intense. Axel said, "Yeah?"

"Yeah what is it, Kung Fu Mouse King -- I mean... er, Your Majesty."

Mickey chuckled affably. "I have an old friend, a teacher of mine, who goes by the name of Yen Sid. If I asked him, as a favor to me, to let you browse his library and see what you could find, he would do it."

"But what would any old library have to offer us?" Yuffie groaned.

"His library," Mickey said, with a hint of awe tingeing his voice, "is not just 'any old library.' There are thousands upon thousands of books there, ones that even he hasn't read, and some of them contain great power -- the way a wine packs more punch with age. You might be able to find more there than Ansem ever could have through his experiments."

"And you think he'd let us search through the books there?" Axel asked, his countenance ever-so-slightly hopeful.

"If I ask him, then yes, he will."

"We're in," Yuffie said. "Just show us the way, King Mickey, and we'll be off as soon as we can."

Mickey looked them over with a shrewd eye. "Are you sure? You both look like you're in need of some rest."

At his words, Yuffie opened her mouth to protest, and then, almost as if some sort of dam had burst, exhaustion flooded through her, weighing down her limbs and causing her eyelids to droop. Axel watched her out of the corner of his eye.

"I guess," she said, letting out a yawn, "I'm more tired than I thought."

Axel yawned as a reaction to her yawn. "How long have we been awake?"

"Well, there was the whole Tron thing and then we got into that Heartless fight and then we talked to everyone and then we took a while to travel here and now... now... " She stretched, her facing almost cracking at the enormity of the next yawn she let out. Yuffie supposed she hadn't felt tired until Mickey had suggested it because she had been holding her fatigue back this entire time. That, and all the adrenaline of the day had kept her going.

King Mickey laughed, all good nature and kingliness. Yuffie thought if she ever had a king, she would want one just like Mickey. Just the right amount of badass mixed with cuddly cuteness, all wrapped up in a nice package – "Automatically Awesome Ruler Kit! Just Add Water."

"You can have rooms here in the castle, if you'd like," King Mickey said. "After all, what's the rush? I still have to contact Yen Sid to get the okay from him. You can stay a night and recuperate."

Yuffie's stomach chose that moment to growl, and she tried to remember the last time she had eaten. Certainly not any time after that morning...

"You must be hungry too," Mickey said. "From what you tell me, you've had quite the busy day."

Yuffie nodded vigorously, and Axel smirked a little as he watched her.

Mickey clapped his hands together. "Well, good! We can get you a nice meal too. Say, have do you know my wife? I should introduce you to her – she loves meeting new people."

-

Yuffie leaned back in her chair, rubbing her belly and sighing contentedly. "Oh, that was great..."

"I'm glad you liked it!" Minnie chirped. "It's one of my absolute favorite dishes."

Yuffie, Axel, King Mickey, and Queen Minnie were all sitting in an enormous dining hall, at a table that ran the length of the room. Chairs lined every inch of it on either side, but they were all empty, there only being four meager guests at that time. But that didn't impede the quality of the service or the food. The kitchen staff was serving dishes with as much grandeur as if there were a hundred guests present and not just two.

"King Mickey," Axel said quietly, "I wanted to thank you for your hospitality. In the face of all that I've done -- "

"Axel, just forget about it. Let's let bygones be bygones. All right?"

His eyes dark with some emotion Yuffie couldn't name, Axel stared at her and then at King Mickey, back and forth. He looked down at his plate and toyed with his fork as he said, almost inaudibly, "How... how can anyone trust me after all that I've done? I've proved time and time again that I'm not trustworthy. I've even betrayed the people that were supposed to be my friends. I'm not -- "

"Axel, shut up," Yuffie said. "Quit bitchin' and eat your peas."

"But -- "

"You've never once betrayed me, have you? Unless you're not telling me something. You've saved my life countless times, and after all the things you did to help Roxas, to make sure Kairi was okay..."

"In the face of all the things I've done wrong, does that stuff really matter?" he grilled, aggressive.

"Yes."

Axel's and Yuffie's heads swiveled at the bell-like voice. Queen Minnie was staring at them with a serene smile on her face, her eyes kind. When they didn't make a sound, she said, "Yes, Axel, those things do matter. They matter very much indeed."

"How?" And now Yuffie could hear the pain in his voice again, jagged like glass.

"Because they show you have a heart."

At this, Axel's chair scraped back from the table, the sound almost deafening in the sudden silence, and stalked out, his footsteps ringing against the marble floors in his wake.

Torn, Yuffie looked at Queen Minnie and King Mickey, and was surprised when they both smiled and nodded in the direction that Axel had gone. She cocked her head to the side briefly, and Mickey said, "Don't worry, we'll have your rooms ready for you whenever you need them. Just go talk to him for right now."

"I have a feeling he needs you." Minnie's eyes twinkled.

Yuffie scurried out after him, waving to the monarchs as she went.

-

She found him in the hallway, slumped against the wall, his long legs sprawled out across the floor. His green eyes were distant, and he didn't acknowledge her as she approached.

"Axel," she said, voice low. When he didn't answer, she said again, louder this time, "Axel!"

He turned his head slowly and looked at her, not saying anything.

"You idiot, that was really rude. They've been nothing but nice to us, and you threw a temper tantrum like a big baby and walked out. Be ashamed of yourself or I'll punch you in the face."

His eyes narrowed, and he said, "You wouldn't."

Yuffie cracked her knuckles one by one. "Oh, yeah? Try me, hot stuff."

He sighed, and all the life seemed to go out of him. Defeated, he said, "I... really don't want to fight."

She lifted an eyebrow. "Really? Then go in there and apologize to the King and the Queen, and quit acting like a big baby, and I won't kick your ass."

Yuffie knew that he was crying out for sympathy right now, but she had given him a good amount of that, and she knew what he needed was a healthy dose of tough love. Axel wasn't one to wallow, but from what she had experienced with him, he could really get down in the dumps and stay there if he let himself. And now, more than ever, he needed her to keep him above water. At least until they found something worth hoping for.

Yuffie prayed to every god she had ever heard of that they would find something worth hoping for.

He lifted his head and said, "You're right, I owe them an apology. And I'll give them one. But for now... can you just sit with me?"

-

Later, after Axel had apologized to Queen Minnie and King Mickey (even going so far as to kiss Queen Minnie's little hand), they were showed to their rooms. Their separate, sensual rooms. The architects and decorators of Disney Castle sure knew how to do their jobs right, Yuffie thought as she surveyed her regal room.

Thick, beautiful carpets were strewn across the floor at different angles, in a way that looked haphazard but was, in reality, carefully arranged. There was a giant, carved wardrobe (full of amazingly beautiful ball gowns of every shape, size, and color, Yuffie discovered upon further inspection) standing off on one wall, as well as some other pieces of furniture, but what dominated most of the room was an enormous canopied bed with heavy, sumptuous drapes.

Axel was probably inspecting his room at that moment, and Yuffie felt fatigue envelop her, unforgiving. Her muscles ached from all the adventure that day, and she knew she had been awake for probably more than eighteen hours. She stumbled sleepily over to her bed and climbed into it with all her clothes still on, forgetting about the soft robe that had been provided for her.

She had almost slipped into sleep barely three minutes later when she felt someone's weight settle into the bed next to her, and a rush of cold air slipped under the blankets as someone lifted them.

"It's just me." Axel's breath fluttered hotly over her neck and ear as he slid into place behind her, shaping his body to fit hers perfectly.

"What're ya doin'?" she yawned.

"Can't sleep in that huge bed alone."

"Mmkay. Bu' no funny business."

His arms slid around her from behind, pulling her closer. He hummed his agreement into her neck, tickling the fine hairs there. "You're still wearing your clothes."

"Too tired ta change. Shush. Sleep-time now."

Axel chuckled at that, his voice throaty and sleep-laden, and if she hadn't been so tired, she would've rolled him over and started kissing him madly.

As it was, she was too tired, and everything was too complicated, and she fell asleep with one vague thought in her mind. _Everything will be better in the morning..._


	17. Chapter 17

"Well," Yuffie said. "Here we are."

"Yep."

They stared, craning their necks up at the imposing tower before them. Yen Sid really had it going on with the whole scary-impressive-wizard thing.

"What do you think he's like?" Yuffie wondered.

Axel shrugged. "No use wondering. Let's go."

Yuffie and Axel had left Disney Castle early that morning after having breakfast and, in Yuffie's case, a round of hugs from Goofy, Donald, Minnie, and Mickey. Axel remained quiet the entire ride to Yen Sid's place, and Yuffie hadn't questioned him about it. She knew the reason he – was reluctant to leave such kind people as the king and the queen.

But they had a quest to complete, and Yen Sid's massive library might just be the key to it.

Before they could even knock, the intimidating doors before them swung open without a sound. Axel looked at Yuffie, Yuffie looked at Axel, and they shrugged simultaneously and walked inside the building.

The place was rather sparse (not taking into account the very nice marble floor and the great color scheme). There was nothing in the room except for a spiral staircase. When Yuffie looked up, she found herself growing dizzy at its height.

"Whoa."

"Tell me something I _don't _know," Axel replied.

"So... what do we do now?"

Before Axel could answer, a voice rang out, startling them. "I have been expecting you. King Mickey informed me of your impending arrival. Please, climb the stairs to the top of the tower. You will find me there."

"Who is this?" Yuffie yelped.

"I am Master Yen Sid," the gravelly, booming voice informed them. "Welcome to my tower."

"Er... thanks!" she called. But there was no answer this time.

Axel looked at her and cocked an eyebrow. "That was weird."

"You know, it's getting to the point where nothing surprises me anymore," Yuffie said. "Scary bug-things taking over worlds and stealing people's hearts, dudes springing up from the dead like crazy, and disembodied voices telling me to climb a giant tower. Really, what's next? A fishman walks by with underwear on his head, clucking like a chicken and telling me I smell like cucumbers?"

Axel looked flabbergasted. "Honestly, where do you come up with this crap?"

She shrugged. "I dunno. Just a product of my deranged mind, I guess."

"That must be it."

She stuck her tongue out at him. "Don't lie. You find it super sexy and awesome on every level."

"Oh, yes. How could anyone resist." His face was stone-calm.

"Jerk."

"Freak."

They were interrupted by what sounded like a throat being cleared. Startled again, they looked around, only to see no one.

"Yuffie, I think that's a hint to move our asses skyward."

"I'd say you're right. But you're still a jerk."

"And you're still a weirdo."

"Am not!"

"Are too!"

This continued for about two flights of stairs, before they were both bored with it.

"Good thing I've got so much patience," Yuffie said, flexing her wiry arm muscles, "or else I'd leave your scrawny, out-of-shape ass behind and get to the top eight billion years before you do."

"I am not scrawny. I am the picture of manliness, and you know it."

"Yeah, and my name is Oola Von Rakklefrakkle."

She smirked as he failed to suppress a snort.

Twenty minutes of climbing later, Yuffie said, "Do you think these stairs ever end?"

Axel seemed to ponder this for a moment, scratching his chin thoughtfully. "With our luck? No. This will be some unending staircase of doom and despair."

"You know... there may be another way to get to the top of this bad-boy without having to climb all these stairs."

Axel cocked his head. "I am intrigued by this suggestion, madam."

"You could do that thing..."

"What thing?"

"That thing where you propel yourself into the air with a huge blast of fire."

"See, the thing about that," Axel said, shaking his head, "is that it's damaging. I could set this whole place on fire if I'm not careful."

"Nah, just this one set of stairs. Besides, this place is made of stone! You'd just do some... minor damage."

Axel looked over his shoulder, eyes narrowed as if he expected the disembodied voice to return. "You know, something tells me that idea can be put under the category of No, Don't Do That, It's Stupid."

"You would know a lot about that category, huh, Axel?"

He looked as if he were going to protest at first, but then he ran a hand through his hair and sighed. "...Yeah."

Yuffie snorted and kept climbing.

Ten flights of stairs later, when she was just starting to lose the will to live, a door materialized before them with a small tinkling noise.

"Oh, thank anything and everything that is holy," she said.

"I am the picture of endurance," Axel said, stretching lazily.

"That's not what those beads of sweat on your upper lip say."

His hand flew to his mouth as he shot a glare her way. Laughing quietly, Yuffie pushed the door open and entered a small brownish room. At the other end of it was another door. Shrugging, she went through that door, only to end up in a room completely the same as the previous one.

"Er... does this look familiar to you?" Yuffie gestured at their surroundings, puzzled.

"Yep. Not much on creativity with the decorating, is he?"

"Guess not."

They repeated this process several times, and Yuffie was starting to get annoyed when, finally, she pushed through a door and found herself staring into two hard brown eyes.

There was a man sitting behind a desk in the middle of this room, dressed from head to toe in blue robes and a blue pointy hat. He had a long white beard and long white hair, and he reminded her very much of Merlin, only ten times as severe-looking. Whereas Merlin looked a little dotty and sort of reminded her of a grandfather who would want to offer her cookies and a hug, this guy reminded her a bit more of Master Senzo, like he would deliver a well-placed roundhouse kick to your face if you annoyed him. Well. He was a wizard. So maybe a Blizzaga instead of a kick.

Yuffie said the first thing that came to her mind, "Is blue a wizard fashion statement? Do you go to Beard-Stroking Meetings with Merlin?"

Axel made a strangled noise behind her. One of the man's furry white eyebrows quirked. "Merlin's beard cannot hold a candle to mine."

Yuffie gaped in surprise. She had rather expected the Blizzaga.

"Oh, well… yeah, you're probably right." Whispering behind her hand, she said, "But don't tell him I said that, yeah?"

Awkwardly, Axel cleared his throat behind her. In a manner that suggested to Yuffie that he did not often do this, Axel bowed to Yen Sid respectfully, saying, "A pleasure to meet you, Master Yen Sid. Thank you for welcoming us to your castle."

Yen Sid nodded to him, and when he turned his buggy, severe eyes to Yuffie, she stood there, puzzled for a moment. Axel made a sort of exasperated noise, and she looked back to see him bowing. "What?" He raised his eyebrows at her, and she said, "Oh. _Oh_!"

Clumsily, she bowed to Yen Sid, reminded painfully once again of Master Senzo and her days with him. When she raised her head and saw his bored expression, Yuffie got the distinct feeling that Yen Sid really did not care about such formalities. He seemed to want to get to the point.

"King Mickey contacted me ahead of time to tell me the two of you need my assistance and the use of my library."

Axel nodded. "That's right. We've got some questions that need to be answered." He paused for a moment, then added, "If they _can_ be answered."

Yen Sid regarded them for a moment, eyes narrowed. After a moment, he seemed to decide something, and he waved his hand. Colorful sparks flew, and what sounded like a little bell chimed. Startling Yuffie and Axel, a woman with tiny wings, dressed in a green dress and hat, popped into the room.

"Yes, Master Yen Sid?"

"Fauna, please make us some tea. And summon your sisters. They might want to hear this story."

When she disappeared with a pop, he said, "Now. Pull up a chair." Where previously there had been empty floor space, there were now two chairs. "Tell me about your journey so far."

"It's… kind of a long story," Yuffie said, rubbing the back of her neck wearily.

He nodded sagely. "I'm sure it is. All the worthwhile stories are 'long.'"

Yuffie looked at Axel, and he nodded at her, she took a deep breath. "Well, since Axel told King Mickey, I guess it's my turn to explain. So… "

-

"You know, I never really was a fan of reading..."

"Uh huh," Axel said with about as much inflection as a rotting log.

"But this is getting _ridiculous_!"

"Yeah, yeah, quit your bitchin' and keep looking in those books, missy."

"Don't make me come over there. I will end you."

"Uh huh."

At that point, Yuffie wasn't sure if she was serious or not. Half of her really was out for blood, and another half of her wanted to slide down against a dusty old shelf and cry and kick and scream and say, "Please, please, no more books! Anything but more books!"

For over a week they had been researching information on Nobodies and Heartless in Yen Sid's massive library, but to no avail. They found random snippets here and there, but nothing that was especially revealing, nothing that pointed them in any sort of direction. They had almost nothing to go on except what they knew from experience and the Ansem Reports.

Yuffie had never been too interested in reading. Sure, the occasional dirty romance novel here and there (mostly stolen from Tifa's stash), but that was about it. She would always much rather be out annoying Squall or sparring with mopey old Cloud. Being stuck in a library for a week was pretty much hell, and she was ready to get out.

"That's it, we're going to get some fresh air or I will explode, and there will be bits of me all over this library, and you will have to clean it up, and then no one will be happy, least of all me because I will haunt you. _I will haunt you_."

Axel turned slowly from his perch on the ladder, high above her head, and he gave her a look like she was batshit crazy. Yuffie figured she probably was.

"Can we please just... go do... something? Please?"

Axel was descending the ladder as he said, "I'm ready to take a break anyway. We've been at this for three hours. I'm starting to see letters when I blink."

"Yeah, not to mention I've got that musty old book smell lodged up my nose," Yuffie said, flaring her nostrils.

"Attractive," he said, dead-eyed.

"You know I'm hot, baby," she crooned, sauntering toward him.

"_I'm_ the Flurry of Dancing Flames, remember?" he said. When she made gagging noises, he shoved her in the shoulder and walked out, unperturbed by her antics. The more cooped-up Yuffie felt, the more idiotic she acted. He knew that from experience.

Yen Sid was waiting for them on the stairs, surprising both of them. He was holding a basket.

"I thought you might want something to eat, and I knew – " and here he looked at Yuffie – "that you might want to go outside for a bit, so I had Flora prepare you a picnic lunch."

Yuffie's eyebrows shot up. "Dang nice of you, Master Yen Sid. Dang nice."

He scowled at her. "I'll just eat it myself then."

"Wait!" Axel yelped, almost lunging for the food. "Master Yen Sid, please forgive my friend's stupidity." He ignored her indignant noise of protest. "You must know by now that she can be rather tactless and – ow." The last part was gasped as Yuffie punched him square in the back.

"Give us the food, ya old geezer, and quit playing games. I'm a hungry ninja, and I don't like books."

She could've sworn she saw Yen Sid's lips twitch, but behind the beard, she could never tell. He thrust the basket into her hands and disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"Show off," she sniffed. "I can do that too."

"Oh, really," Axel said, snatching the picnic basket from her and starting the long path down the stairs. He poked his nose under the lid, squinting at the contents.

"Yep. Except, well... mine's an illusion. His probably is real teleportation."

"I see," Axel said. "So basically, you can do what he just did, only it's the lame version."

"Shut up," she snapped, unable to think of anything else to say.

"Careful, you might hurt yourself on that biting wit."

"I'll have you know that my wit has jaws of steel."

"Oh, yes. I'm sure. You've proven that time and time again."

"When we get back into the library, and a shelf falls on your head and kills you, you will have no one to blame but yourself."

-

The day was not a fine one for a picnic, that was for sure. Yuffie and Axel munched on their delicious sandwiches as they watched the clouds roll fitfully overhead.

"Sky doesn't look too happy, does it?" Axel mused.

"Probably mad at seeing your ugly face. Gonna piss on you for their troubles," Yuffie said around a mouthful of macaroni salad. "Wow those fairies sure can cook."

She looked at Axel just in time to catch half of a sandwich to the face. "Now who's the ugly one, eh? Oh, you got mustard on your nose." Axel licked his fingers, watching her with half-lidded eyes and reminding her intensely of cat.

"A sandwich to the face does not an ugly one make," Yuffie said in her best wise man voice. She stroked her imaginary beard while subtly trying to wipe the condiments off her face. She would get him back for that. The gleam in his eyes said he had guessed as much.

"Yeah, whatever, tell it to the judge," he said, waving his hand dismissively. "Can I have the rest of my sandwich back?"

"Asshole."

He sniffed each of his armpits pointedly. "Don't smell bad enough for that."

They ate in silence for a bit, languid and muzzy, the way people always feel when they've been reading for a long time. They were startled out of their temporary peace when raindrops began to fall into the last remains of their food.

"Well, good thing we finished eating, eh? Let's head inside." Axel began to gather up the remains of their lunch.

Then the skies opened and released a sheet of rain that soaked them within seconds. "Wow, someone really hates us," Yuffie said. "Quick, make a fire before I freeze to death or something."

"Or, y'know, we could do the not stupid thing and go inside." Axel had to raise his voice over the din of drops hitting the ground and the tower.

"What if I don't wanna, huh? What if I like getting wet?"

"Then you can stay out here," he said, picking up the picnic basket and rising fluidly. His hair was completely soaked, looking a little droopy, but somehow still spiky. Yuffie wondered where he got his hair-grooming secrets or if he just had some strange gene that made his hair that way.

"Hey, wait, you're just gonna leave me?" she called to him.

"If you're dumb enough to stand out in this, I am," he said as he walked away.

"I said wait!" she called, a strange note entering her voice.

He turned around then, staring hard at her, and when he saw the look on her face, he dropped the basket, heedless of the rain, and opened his arms just a little.

Yuffie jumped into them with an almost hysterical intensity, violently crushing her mouth against his. It wasn't very comfortable, and she was hurting them both with her fervency, but Axel kissed back just as hard, hitching her legs up around his waist and holding her there, the rain pouring down their skin and binding their clothes to their bodies, close as skin. He could feel the water, slightly cool, running down the crevices in his back, into the crooks of his knees, over his shoulders, over her shoulders, over their faces, wriggling into the small, brief spaces between their lips. They tasted the rain in each other's mouths, on each other's tongues.

Axel's hands in her hair tugged hard, and Yuffie was scratching his neck she was clutching him so strongly; he dropped to his knees in the wet grass, his hands slip-sliding down her abdomen, over shorts, ghosting slickly over the skin of her thighs, scratching over her knees, and then repeating the whole process in reverse.

"We should... probably go inside... before we get sick," Yuffie gasped to him. He was biting her collarbone.

Hesitantly, he said, "You're right," and after a few more moments of his hands crawling around her inner thighs and his tongue doing interesting things in her ear, he pulled her to her feet and headed to the tower, snatching the basket on the way.

When they were in foyer, Yuffie shook herself and said, "I guess I oughta go ask Yen Sid or the fairies for some towels or blankets or something. I'll just tell him we got caught in the downpour."

Axel caught her by the arm as she started to walk up the stairs, pulling her flush against his chest. He stared at her, green eyes glittering, and she realized after a few moments that steam was rising from their clothes and hair, and they were rapidly beginning to dry. She felt a pleasant warmth dancing along her limbs and body.

"What are you doing?"

"Drying us off," he said huskily. "Distracting you."

"I dunno why I'm the one being the voice of reason here," Yuffie said, mouth dry, "but we should probably get back to work."

"Mmmhmm," Axel said, nipping along her jaw. "In a few minutes."

Before they could get too into it, Yen Sid's voice ricocheted off the stone. "I will not tolerate this nonsense in my tower. Get back to work before I boot you both back into the rain."

"Oh, listen, it's my favorite disembodied voice." Yuffie looked around, smirking in every possible direction just to make sure he saw. "You're just jealous, Siddy! 'Cause you ain't got none of this." She proceeded to grab Axel's ass.

Axel coughed and gingerly removed her hand. "She didn't mean that, Master! Don't kick us out, please!"

Yuffie heard what sounded suspiciously like suppressed laughter.

-

A week later, Yuffie and Axel weren't feeling quit so cozy. In fact, they were ready to kill each other.

"Axel."

"What."

"Stop it."

"Stop what."

"You know what."

"No, I really don't."

"There's no way you don't know what you're doing."

"Praytell, what is it that you want me to stop doing."

"You know what I want you to stop doing. You're doing it on purpose. There's no way you don't know what it is."

"I'm sure that whatever it is that's irritating you so badly, I'm not doing it on purpose, O Ruler of the Library."

They glared at each other over a giant stack of books.

"This would be a whole lot easier if you would just tell me what I'm doing that's bothering you. If you told me, I could stop doing it, and we could get back to work and be hunky-dory."

"Or you could just not do it. Since you know not to."

"I don't know what you're talking about!" Axel snapped, pounding a fist on the table. Dust motes rose into the air from the books around his hand. Yuffie felt the urge to sneeze but repressed it in favor of scowling.

"Do you ever know what I'm talking about?" she sneered.

"Do you ever shut up?"

"No, but your mom shut up last night."

"I don't have a mom."

"Maybe that's because you're a douche."

"No, that's because I'm a shell of a being formed from my former self's heart being stolen."

"I think it's because you're a douche."

"Good. We're agreed. Now shut up."

"No. Not until you stop doing that thing you've been doing."

Axel's eyes narrowed to slits. "I don't know what your problem is, Yuffie, but I'm going to ignore you in favor of, oh, I dunno, seeing if there's any way I can get a damn heart!"

"It doesn't matter because even if you had one, the black hole in your chest would eat it!"

"Whatever."

"This subject is not closed!"

"No, it really is."

"Why, I oughta – "

At that moment, Yuffie jumped over the table, scrambling like a monkey, and seized Axel by the collar of his shirt, toppling them both to the stone floor. She felt his back hit hard, and she heard him hiss, and then he kicked her off of him.

Yuffie rolled a few feet and then sprang onto him again, pummeling him with her fists. She had been stuck in the library for too many days, and now she was ready to kill something. Unfortunately for Axel, he was the nearest thing with any semblance of life in it; therefore, she was going to attempt to kill him, specifically.

Axel had been getting steadily more hot under the collar as well in the past week, so he fought back just as hard, and soon, they were fist-fighting, no holds barred, heedless of the petty reasons. There was no skill, there were no calculations, and there was no proper thinking -- just adrenaline and a burning urge to hit something.

In their scuffle, they rolled into a bookshelf, knocking it hard. The thing began to teeter, on the brink of falling. Seeing it, Yuffie wrapped her arms and legs around Axel and rolled them out of the way as quickly as she could. With a thunderous crash, the shelf hit the floor, thankfully not bumping any other shelves in the process.

Still, there were books everywhere, and Yuffie knew if they didn't get the mess sorted out fast, Yen Sid was going to be pissed.

Axel got to his feet and held out a hand to help Yuffie up. She took it, all anger from a few moments ago gone, the sweat cooling on her rapidly.

"We should probably clean this up."

"Yep. Let's get to it." Axel brushed his sweaty hands off on his shirt and went around to the other side of the now-horizontal shelf, gesturing for Yuffie to help him. With some elbow grease, they hefted it into a standing position again, then rested their arms for a moment before beginning the arduous process of picking up all the books and putting them back.

"Think there's any way we're going to get these things back in the order Yen Sid had them?"

Axel frowned, staring at the books, then at the shelf. "Nope. I don't really think these things are in any sort of order."

"Guess we'll just do our best, hope he didn't notice that noise, and see if we can get this done before he interrupts and sees this crap."

"Say... what was I doing? I really don't know."

"You were breathing too loud."

He stared at her for a moment, looking as if he were about to say something, but then his mouth snapped shut, and he just shook his head.

Wearily, they continued to tidy up. As they got to the middle of the pile, Yuffie made to grab a book that had come open in the fall. She stopped dead when she saw the picture.

In the bottom right corner of the page, there was an ink rendition of a man whose heart was being stolen by a Heartless. The Heartless was a Shadow, as evidenced by its flea-like antennae and its protuberant eyes.

"Axel," she breathed. "Look at this."

"What is it? Did you find something?"

Yuffie gently lifted the book, flipping to the beginning of the section to which the picture belonged. It was titled "The Soul and the Heart."


	18. Chapter 18

"_And the Dark Ones will steal the Hearts of the unsuspecting, and those whose Hearts have been taken will, in turn, morph into a Dark One as well, joining their thieving legions._

"_But once in a great while, a Dark One may steal the heart of an individual whose will is formidable. A powerful shell is left behind, and it will contain life but it will be only a fraction of its previous life, a spectre of its former self. They are the Lost Ones who walk among us._

"_The Lost Ones appear as normal beings, complete in nature, but they are less – a Soul without its counterpart, the Heart._

"_The Heart is inextricably linked with the Soul. Together, they create Emotion. Without one, the other does not function properly, a machine without a vital part. The Soul and the Heart are the endless wellspring from which Emotion flows. Each keeps the other in check. From each, Emotion is created and is filtered through the other, in turn being regulated and rationalized. The Soul counsels the Heart and the Heart counsels the Soul. One without the other leaves Emotion unchecked and flowing like a burst dam. A Lost One feels these things out of control as Emotion bleeds into the atmosphere and is wasted._"

Slowly, Yuffie looked up from her perusal of the text before her. Axel finished scant seconds after her, and their eyes met, realization dawning. Silence ruled the room. The only movement came from dust mites floating through the shafts of light coming through the impressive library windows.

"Axel," she breathed, "do you know that this means?"

His eyes so wide they were almost popping from his head, he looked at the floor. He opened his mouth, tried to speak, but no sound was forthcoming. He visibly tried to swallow, wetting his lips with his tongue, and said hoarsely, "It means..." With that, he fell to his knees on the stone floor.

Yuffie slid to the floor immediately afterward, keeping a careful eye on his reactions. He lifted his hands into the light, staring at them as if he didn't know where he was, as if he wasn't sure of his own identity anymore, and it hit Yuffie like a ton of bricks – he didn't.

Everything he had been told about himself; everything he knew about Nobodies; everything Ansem the Wise and King Mickey and Xehanort and Xemnas had known about the Heart and the Darkness and the shells of powerful people left behind – all of that had just been changed.

Words he had said to her many times before flitted through her mind then.

"_Yuffie, I have no heart."_

"_I can't really care about someone unless I have a heart."_

"Axel..." He didn't look at her. "Axel!" she said, sharper this time. "Axel, look at me." Her tone brooked no argument, but still, he did not rouse from his stupor.

She took him by the chin and wrenched his head up, forcing him to meet her gaze. "Axel, get a grip. We have to go show this to Yen Sid. Do you know what this means?"

Still dazed, he said, voice barely audible, "It's all real."

"What? What's all real?"

He stood quickly, whirling and pacing the floor with his head clutched in his hands. "All of it. All the things I feel – they're not just _memories_ of things I felt. I really... I really..."

"If what this book says is true, yes, you really felt those things."

"I was actually angry, I was actually sad, I was actually scared. I was actually... happy." Turning, he seized her by the shoulders, his grip almost painful, and yelled in a hysterical voice, "It's all real!"

She smiled, despite his fingers digging into her skin. "Yep. Told ya it doesn't matter that ya don't have a heart."

He stopped clutching her then, rubbing his chin instead. "But... that makes no sense. If I can still feel emotions without a Heart, then what's the point of having one at all?"

Yuffie's smile faded as he frowned thoughtfully. "I don't know.

"There has to be a catch. There has to be some sort of consequence." Thinking furiously, Axel turned to the book and reread the passage, his green eyes skittering over the words like two small, nervous animals. He turned the page after a moment, scanning some more, startling her when he said, "Look! There's more."

Yuffie craned her neck around him to see.

"_A Lost One will exude unchecked Emotion at an exponentially increasing rate. Eventually, a breaking point will be reached, and the Soul within the shell will rip itself apart from too much power output, effectively destroying the remnants of that person._"

The passage went on to explain the way the time varied greatly with each individual Lost One, but that the way to tell was if the Lost One in question was experiencing extreme emotional outbursts and overloads in which they had trouble functioning normally.

Yuffie gulped in a breath, stunned, trying not to let her brain come to the logical conclusion after reading that.

"Yuffie," Axel said, his voice grave. "_You_ know what this means, don't you?"

She shook her head, blocking it from her mind.

"Yuffie, stop it. You have to listen. I might not... I might not be around much longer. There's no telling when this will happen to me."

"Shut up!" she barked. "Shut _up!_ We don't even know if this book is right. Who's to say that this all isn't just made up? Or something somebody thought they were right about?"

"I don't think so," he said. "This would explain why I always thought I felt things. It never made sense to me – how could someone so effectively 'remember' emotions? Like... Saïx faked anger so well. And Demyx... Demyx always seemed so happy, but I thought that couldn't be true because it _wasn't_ the real thing. Xemnas told us that a thousand times. Nobodies can't feel emotion without hearts. We were just fooling ourselves."

"But... but you felt it," she whispered.

He nodded, staring into her eyes so openly. "I did. I felt thing so strongly, I wondered how they couldn't be real, how they could be just memories. But what other explanation could there be? Without a heart, people are just... shells."

"But the book says – Axel, what if you're going to go all splodey on me soon, huh? What am I gonna do then? It's great that you've actually been feeling things and all, that's wonderful, don't get me wrong, but it says your soul is going to destroy itself!"

He ran a hand through his spikey hair, mussing it even further. "I... I don't know. I think we need to go talk to Yen Sid about this."

At a loss, Yuffie could do nothing but nod, her mind racing at a pace she almost couldn't keep up with. She followed dumbly in Axel's footsteps as he took the tome gently in his hands and started the long climb to the top of Yen Sid's tower. She thought an eternity must have passed before they were finally in the wizard's "office," facing him.

As usual, he was hunched over some parchment or another on his desk, and despite her confusion, her dismay, Yuffie found herself interested as she saw that he was mumbling to himself and there were blue swirls of light looping through the air around his hands, which he was waving in some sort of intricate pattern before him.

Axel cleared his throat, and Yen Sid did not immediately answer, merely flicking his eyes at them briefly, then looking at the paper again. They took this as a cue to let him finish.

The blue light-loops shifted to a green color and then, with a strange fizzling noise, seemed to eat away at themselves until they vanished completely. Yen Sid directed his attention to them then, wiping his hands on his robe as if they were dirty.

"Yes?" he said simply.

Axel walked forward and carefully placed the book on the wizard's desk. It was a slim volume, yellowed with age, its pages gilded. Yuffie saw then that the title was simply _Studies of the Heart_. The outside was black leather with simple golden lettering.

Yen Sid raised a bristly white eyebrow and said, "I have never seen this before."

"You haven't?" Yuffie said in surprise. "It was in your library, though."

"You have been in my library for over a week now, Yuffie," Yen Sid said, casually using her first name. She liked the way a man as old as him could be informal with her. "Surely you've noticed the immensity of it, the sheer _number_ of volumes therein."

She scowled at him. "Well, duh! But it's _your_ library. You mean you don't know what's in it?"

"Over the many years I have lived," Yen Sid said, and here Yuffie wondered just how old this man really was, "I have collected books diligently. Knowledge is power. I have taken great care with my collection, keeping it in as pristine a condition as I can." She resisted wincing at the thought of the huge pile of books still strewn about the stone floor. "However, I have had many visitors to this tower, and I have met many strange people, and if there is one thing I have discovered, it is this – certain objects and people have magic within them, and if those objects or individuals are meant to be with you, they will somehow find their way to you."

"So what you're saying is..." Axel trailed off, sounding unsure of himself.

"What I am saying is this, Axel." He fixed them with a contemplative stare. "Sometimes, I end up with things and do not know from where they have come. And sometimes, it is better not to question one's good fortune." He paused, and then added, "Or bad fortune, whatever the case may be."

"Okay," Yuffie said slowly. "Okay. That's great. But other than all that crap – " She stuck her tongue out at him as he rolled his eyes – "we have something to show you."

Axel flipped the book open to the correct passage and showed the older man. He read for a few moments, his forehead furrowing even more than usual as he went on. Yuffie watched anxiously, awaiting his reaction.

When he deemed himself finished, he set the book down, then carefully sat in his chair, ruminating. After a while he said, "What do you think of this?"

Axel shrugged. "Well, it would sure explain a _lot_, Master Yen Sid."

Yen Sid nodded. "So you experience emotions as this book says."

"Yes. As far as I can tell. I don't really know how I could just... fake the things I feel."

Yuffie realized something then. "But the book doesn't say anything about Lost Ones – er, Nobodies – returning to life after being destroyed. What about that? It still doesn't make any sense."

"There is some explanation we have not yet found," Yen Sid countered. He waved one of his hands gracefully, and two chairs popped into existence in front of his desk. Yuffie gratefully slumped into one.

Shrewdly, Yuffie said, "If the book explains Axel's emotions, if what it says is true, then why doesn't it say anything about Lost Ones coming back to life?"

"Maybe because it's never happened before," Axel supplied. Yuffie took the book from Yen Sid's desk and began to flip through the pages quickly, searching for any mention of it.

After a few minutes of her searching, Yen Sid sighed exasperatedly and snatched it back from her, muttering a few incomprehensible words as he did so. Briefly, he closed his eyes, then opened them again and shook his head. "My spell located no traces of words related to the subject. I sensed nothing."

"Damn," Yuffie said. "So our questions are still unanswered. Hey, wait! If you could do that just now, why didn't you use it in the library! We've been searching for a week now, and you could've just used a stinkin' spell? You old _codger!_"

Yen Sid squinted at her disapprovingly. "Respect your elders, you young upstart. I couldn't use that spell because a flood of words and information of that magnitude would have overwhelmed me. I would not have been able to comprehend it even if I could have sensed the information you were seeking."

"Oh, fine," Yuffie huffed. "But we still don't know anything really."

"There is some explanation," Yen Sid repeated. "This is just one more step in the correct direction."

"What next?" Axel said, staring at his clenched fists in his lap. Sometime during the discussion, he had taken a seat himself. Yuffie hadn't noticed, she was thinking so hard.

"I know this," Yen Sid said. "Searching in books is not going to take you any further. This," he said, brandishing _Studies of the Heart_, "wanted to find you."

"Wanted?" Yuffie lifted a black eyebrow. "You feeling all right, old man?"

He gave her a _look_. "There's no way someone with as little training as yourself would be able to understand how some objects have magical intent. This one sensed your persistent questioning and made itself available. The overarching forces of the universe want you to find the answers for which you are searching, but if this is all you have discovered in my library, my instinct tells me that these are all the results my tower will yield."

"'Overarching forces of the universe'?"

"Do not say those words with such incredulity, little girl." Suddenly, Yuffie felt that he was being completely serious. "In a wolrd where monstrous creatures steal the hearts of those you love, in a world where dead men walk – " He sent a pointed look at Axel – "does the existence of powers beyond your comprehension really surprise you?"

Yuffie didn't answer. She knew there was no need. After appraising her briefly, Yen Sid harrumphed. "Good. Would not do for a person of your caliber to be so ignorant." He turned to Axel and handed the book to the red-haired man. "There is a key difference between you and your deceased companions."

"There is?" Axel fingered the spine of the book. "What is it?"

Yen Sid spread his hands. "I do not know. But there must be one, otherwise they would have returned as well. We will assume they have not, and you must search yourself and everything within yourself to understand why you were reborn and they were not."

"I think it's time we leave you, Yen Sid," Yuffie said. "You've been awesome, and thanks for letting us crash here and all, but we gotta go somewhere else now."

"Somewhere else?" Axel cocked his head at her. "And just where do you think we're going to go? We've hit a dead end. There _is_ nowhere else to go."

Yuffie shrugged. "I dunno. We'll think of something on the road, I guess."

"Go speak with the Keyblade wielder."

Yen Sid's direction startled them. "What?" Axel looked confused.

"Tell the Keyblade wielder your tale."

"But how would Sora know anything? He's kind of a dope, Yen Sid."

"The Keyblade chose young Sora for a reason. He may be able to help you in ways an old man such as myself cannot."

Yuffie hummed thoughtfully. "You might just have a point there, ya old coot. Well... I guess we'll be going. Unless you have anything else you want to do here, Axel?" Axel shook his head.

"Well, tell the fairies we said goodbye," Yuffie said. "And, uh... Master Yen Sid?"

Surprised at her showing a modicum of respect, Yen Sid lifted his eyebrows at her. "Hm?"

Yuffie darted around his desk, hugged him hard about the middle – almost toppling him to the ground in the process – and then scampered to the door, shouting over her shoulder, "Thanks for everything, old man! And we're sorry we tipped one of your shelves over in the library!"

"_What!_" he bellowed.

Chuckling nervously, Axel was already backing toward the door, saying as fast as he could, "Lookwe'rereallysorryaboutthatanduh – THANKS FOR ALL YOUR HELP! BYE, MASTER!"

Just like that, they were running down the stairs at top speed, snagging their stuff from their rooms, headed toward the ship. Yen Sid's disembodied sighs followed them out the door.

-

"I don't see why you get to fly again," Yuffie pouted. "You won't let me fly this thing, like, ever! Why do _you _always get control of the ship, huh?"

"Because _I _know where we're going, and you don't," he said, ignoring her whiny voice and puppy eyes.

"Aww, you could've just _told_ me which way to go!"

"Whatever, this is faster and you know it."

"How do you know how to get there any – oh, right, you kidnapped Kairi."

He coughed delicately. "Yes. That."

"How long until we get there?"

Gritting his teeth, he said, "Will you simmer down? I gotta put this puppy into warp drive, and then we'll be there in no time, all right? Sheesh."

"But I'm _bored_."

Axel set the controls to auto-pilot, destination Destiny Islands, and turned toward Yuffie with an aggrieved stare. "And _I _don't care."

"Jerk."

"Baby."

"Shut up!"

"You're just ready to be away from Yen Sid's tower."

"Okay, okay, you're right. Hey, Axel?"

"Hm?"

Yuffie draped herself over the arm of the co-pilot's chair. "Are you going to explode on me?"

Axel examined himself, patting his body in different places. "Not that I can tell, no."

"Do you feel as if you might blow into smithereens at any time soon?"

"There _is_ a strange tingling in my left big toe – "

"Oh, shut up."

"I'm not going to blow up on you, Yuffie. Not soon at any rate."

She smiled at him. "Good. I'd be mad if I had to pick bits of you out of my clothes. That's just nasty."

"Oh, right. I'll make sure not to get myself on you in the event that I do blow up."

"Good. That's what I like to hear."

He snorted.

-

"Well, here we are."

Yuffie unbuckled her seat belt as soon as they had landed and skipped-hopped toward the door, ready to stretch her limbs and see what it was like outside. The sunshine looked promising.

She had opened the hatch and hopped outside, and was getting ready to pull her boots and socks off to go put her toes in the waves lapping at the shore nearby when she heard a shout. Whirling, she didn't even look to see who it was before diving back into the ship, snatching her shuriken, and preparing herself in a defensive stance outside the door. Axel was not far behind.

Rounding from the other side of the ship was Sora, Keyblade in hand, with some silver-haired kid following after with a Keyblade in _his_ hand as well.

Sora stopped in his tracks at the sight of her, and at the sight of Axel standing next to her with his chakrams in his hands, looking whole and very much _alive_, his mouth fell open. The silver-haired guy had halted so suddenly he actually fell into Sora and knocked them both into the sand.

"Yuffie...?" he gasped. "What're you – and Axel – and... _what?_"

Sora's companion picked himself off the ground and brushed the sand off his clothes. He offered a hand to Sora who was so distracted he didn't take it until the other boy nudged him with a toe.

"Axel?" Sora said again.

"In the flesh," Axel said, vanishing his weapons.

"But... you died."

He rolled his eyes. "Yuffie, I don't feel like explaining this time. You do it."

"No way! You wouldn't let me drive the ship, jerk. You're going to suffer this time." She was busy trying to hook her shuriken to her belt.

"Aww, c'mon," he wheedled.

She had opened her mouth for a snotty retort when Sora's friend stuck his hand out toward her. He stared intensely at her with blue-green eyes. "Hi, I'm Riku. You're... Yuffie? Nice to meet you. I see you've met Sora before."

Yuffie shook his hand vigorously. "Yep. Yuffie's the name, bein' awesome's my game."

Sora seemed to be regaining his wits. He was squinting at Yuffie and Axel and scratching his head. "Could someone please tell me what's going on?"

"I'm thinking that's the next order of business, actually," Riku said. He stuck his hand out to Axel too, who also shook it.

"Say, is Kairi here?"

Riku's eyebrows lifted. "You know Kairi? Wow, Sora, there's a lot you haven't told me."

"That's Axel! She told you how he kidnapped her and then let her go and then – "

"Okay, okay, you know what? Let's go to Kairi's house. We can get this all sorted out there."

"Yeah, I wanna see Kairi!"

Axel had gone pale. "You... you brought her back in one piece, right? I never even thought to ask about her in all the confusion of, you know... coming back to life."

Sora nodded. "Of course! Did you expect anything else?"

"Oh, good." He sighed with relief.

Riku broke in again, looking at Axel like he was loopy. "Uh... 'coming back to life'?"

"You know what? Let's go see Kairi, and we'll explain it all there, okey dokey?" Yuffie began to lead the way before she realized that she had no idea where they were supposed to go.

"Follow me," Sora said, grinning at her.

"Right."


	19. Chapter 19

A/N: _Hey there, readers! I know it's been a while since I left an author note, but here we go. I just wanted to apologize for any laxness on my part in answering reviews. Just know that I am reading what you have to say and I do appreciate the love. I've been really busy lately, having been named Valedictorian for my graduating class, and I've got a little caught up in all that. Apologies!_

_One last thing: this is definitely the last talky chapter before the action. From here on out, it's life or death, my friends. Hope you enjoy and let me know what you think!  
_

--

Yuffie sipped her glass of cold lemonade, her hands slick from the condensation. One thing she loved about Destiny Islands was the heat; it made her almost obscenely scant clothing more acceptable. In a world mostly composed of beaches and sparkling seas, people didn't look twice if you wanted to stroll around in short shorts and a skimpy tank top.

The five of them – Yuffie, Axel, Sora, Riku, and Kairi – were congregated in Kairi's rather nice living room. Apparently, Kairi's dad was the mayor of Destiny Islands. He had some cash to go around.

Yuffie was currently listening to Axel recounting his resurrection story (again) to Kairi, Sora, and Riku. They were listening with avid interest, faces intent on his story as he brought it to a close by telling them about the book and their subsequent arrival on Destiny Islands.

As Axel wrapped it up, they all just sat there for a few moments, processing everything, absorbing it all and thinking deeply. They had no questions, really, as Axel had become so good at telling this tale without leaving out any valuable information.

Axel scratched the back of his neck uncomfortably. "So..."

"Yuffie, it's so good to see you again," Kairi said abruptly, gazing at her with delighted eyes. "We haven't met up again since... well."

Yuffie coughed. "Yeah. That." They grinned at each other.

Seeming to abandon the story for a moment, Sora cocked his head to the side and asked, "Say, Axel, why do you look like Leon?"

Axel looked down at his many-pocketed cargo pants, large boots, ragged white t-shirt, vest, and the assortment of chains and belts decorating his person. "Oh, this? Well, I had to borrow some of Leon's clothes. See, after I was resurrected, they found me wandering around naked in the desert and – "

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Riku said. "Give me a little time to process all of this."

"Hi again, Riku," Axel said.

Riku smirked. "Hey, Axel."

Sora's head whipped back and forth between them. "You've met?"

"We bumped into each other once or twice." Riku crossed his arms.

"Bound to happen when you use the Darkness between worlds to travel," Axel said.

Yuffie blinked suddenly. "Wait a minute, can you still do that? Why have we been traveling around by airship this entire time?"

"If I could still do that, Yuffie, I would've told you by now. As it stands, I can't summon a dark portal."

"How do you know? Have you tried?"

He raised an eyebrow. "It doesn't take much 'trying,' really. It's just a focus of my will, and then a portal appears. No matter how hard I try, it doesn't work."

She frowned. "That's strange. It must have something to do with you being resurrected. But you've got all your other powers back? I mean, you can still materialize your chakrams and use fire power and stuff."

"Surfing the Darkness is an entirely different power," Riku interjected. "It's something connected to being in sync with Darkness, with surrendering your heart to it. That's why you or Sora or Kairi can't do it."

Something in his eyes and tone made the hair rise on Yuffie's arms. She thought he might be younger than her, but something about this silver-haired teen made her wonder just what he had seen and done in his short life.

Blue eyes darting around, obviously aware of the sudden strange mood, Sora said, "Well, this whole Axel-not-being-dead thing has me starving. Anyone else hungry? I could go for some grub."

Yuffie snickered as Axel shrugged, Riku rolled his eyes, and Kairi smiled.

-

"So all this bad stuff happened to you, and now you're here for _my_ help?"

Sora blinked, sitting at a picnic table and sucking down noodles like a black hole. Yuffie stared at the sheer amount of food he was able to tuck away. The group had migrated further into town, to a little district filled with restaurants and places to sit.

_Teenage boys_, she thought.

Yuffie really liked the relaxed beach atmosphere here. The evening sun beat down on her in hazy rays, warming her skin pleasantly and tingeing everything with a rosy hue.

"Yep," Axel said. "Yen Sid seems to think you're our next best bet."

"Uhhh..."

Yuffie felt her heart sink. "Listen, if you can't help us, we don't know who to go to, and Axel is going to explode soon."

Sora nearly spat out his noodles, and Kairi winced. Riku coughed delicately into his hand. "What do you mean 'explode'?"

"Oh... I must have forgotten to mention that part," Axel mused. "You see, my soul produces emotions at an exponentially increasing rate until my body can't take it anymore and – KABLAM!" They all jumped. "Bits of Axel everywhere."

Yuffie tweaked his ear, hard. "Idiot! Don't say that stuff."

"What? It's true!" He shoved her off, tickling her just a little as he did so. Yuffie noticed then that the others were staring.

"What?"

"Do you two, er... have something, y'know... going on?" Riku gestured at the two of them with his fork.

"What? Us?" Yuffie asked. "As in me and Axel?"

"Nah, that can't happen," Sora said, waving his plastic knife. "Nobodies don't feel emotion."

"Sora," Yuffie said. "Didn't you hear what Axel said before? When he told you about the book?"

"Uh... that was a lot of information to take in," he said, his tone apologetic. "Refresh my memory?"

Axel slipped something out of his pocket and laid it on the table. "Here, you can just read it from the source material. Turn to page twenty-four."

Kairi and Riku crowded around Sora to read over his shoulder as he perused the page in _Studies of the Heart_. His bright blue eyes skittered over the page quickly, drinking everything in. Yuffie and Axel exchanged a few significant glances as they watched his reactions. Riku finished reading first, Kairi second, and Sora last.

When he was finally done, he looked first at Kairi, then at Riku, and then all three turned their gazes to Yuffie and Axel.

Kairi spoke. "What this book is saying is..."

"Nobodies really do feel emotion." Axel crossed his arms.

Sora looked stunned. "So... King Mickey and Ansem the Wise were wrong? That can't be!"

"It's possible," Axel said quietly, his face solemn, "that this book is wrong. It's possible this is all made up."

"It's not," Yuffie said suddenly, loudly. "I know it's not."

"You can't know that," he responded, serene.

She grabbed one of his pale hands in hers, threading their fingers together and gripping hard. Staring defiantly into his eyes, she said, "Yes, I _can_ know that. I _do_ know that. So shut up, jerk-bag."

After a moment, he nodded and lowered their joined hands to the bench, not letting go. "If the book is right, Sora, it would explain a lot."

But Sora was not listening. Sora was walking away from the table while Kairi and Riku watched, shocked. The hunch of his shoulders and the harshness of his gait suggested that something was wrong. When Kairi attempted to go after him, Riku held her shoulder gently.

"Don't. He needs time to handle some stuff by himself."

"But what...?" Kairi searched Riku's face questioningly.

"If what this book says is true, Kairi," Riku said slowly, "then that means that Sora killed a lot of thinking, feeling beings. And he did it without mercy, he did it without regret."

"But that wasn't his fault!" Kairi cried, throwing Riku's arm off violently. People in the surrounding area were starting to stare. "He couldn't have known that! Everyone told him the opposite! Besides, they were threatening his life. What was he supposed to do?"

"You're right, but he has to understand all that for himself," Riku said. "Give him some time, and then we'll go after him, okay?"

Kairi sighed and nodded. They all stared morosely at their food. It was a fact of the universe that when Sora was put out, everyone else was too. No one could really help it.

-

Later that night, Yuffie decided it was high time she sat on the beach and watched the sunset. She actually could not remember the last time she had watched a sunset, and even though problems were pressing in on all sides, even though Axel was nearing explosion, even though she didn't know what was going on in her own head anymore, now was probably the best time to watch a sunset. In fact, those things came together to make the best reason to relax – relaxing would keep her head from exploding!

She slipped out of the house and down to the sandy shore (not even twenty feet away, as the mayor's manor was practically toeing the beach) when no one was paying attention.

She sank to her knees a few feet from the water, tossing her shoes off shortly afterward and digging her toes into the warm sand. The sun had baked it to a nice temperature, and it felt soothing and wonderful on her nerves. Yuffie felt as if her cares could melt away in the heat of the sun and the sand and the _shush_ of the waves.

Not long after she slumped bonelessly onto the ground, Axel settled quietly next to her. She had expected him to turn up sooner or later.

They said nothing for a while, letting the heat sink into their skin, feeling the humidity close against their bodies. The skyline reminded Yuffie of cracking open a ripe peach – the outer edges orangey, then getting redder toward the center. She inhaled deeply.

"I don't know if Sora can help us," Axel said some time later.

"He has to," she replied. The last sliver of the sun was hovering above the water, and the sky above it had turned a deep, velvety navy. The air around them was beginning to cool.

A breeze scampered past them, tossing Axel's fiery hair as he turned to stare at her. He said nothing. "What will we do if he can't?"

"He will, Axel. He's Sora. He's the Keybearer."

"That doesn't mean shit, Yuffie, and you know it."

She stuck her tongue out at him, throwing her hands into the air and falling back into the sand with a soft _thump_. Amused at herself, she waved her arms and legs. "Look, sand angel."

"You're not taking me seriously."

"Nope, sure ain't."

He grabbed one of her wrists. "Why not?"

"Because otherwise, I might spontaneously combust with worry, and frankly, that's just not my style." She started piling sand over herself, making little hills on her bare belly.

He sighed, exasperated. "Fine."

"You wouldn't want me to burst into flames, would you?"

"I don't care." He waved a hand at her, leaning over his knees, all angles and elbows and edges in the settling night.

"I am wounded and appalled, sir."

"You're not bleeding." He stared at her from above, one green eye peering over his shoulder.

"Yes, but my _heart_ is wounded," she said, clutching her chest.

He rolled that eye. "I'm sure I feel it too, your pain is so great."

"Definitely. You're actually bleeding to death right now, you just can't tell."

He smirked and flopped down beside her. "Do you _ever_ shut up and enjoy a nice night?"

His bony elbow was digging into her side. She rolled around in the sand until her head was pillowed on his stomach. She felt a little colder when there was no heartbeat, even though she already knew there would not be one.

"Me, shut up? No. Don't lie, though. You love it."

After a brief pause, he said quietly, "I do."

-

As Axel and Yuffie crept through the house, trying not to disturb anyone, the lights flickered on when they entered the dining room. Yuffie blinked at the harsh contrast from the darkness. Sora stood by the light switch, his jaw set, his eyes a little red.

"You okay?"

He nodded and went and sat down at the table. They exchanged a glance and followed suit, Axel settling one hand over her knee when she sat next to him.

Sora opened his mouth to speak when the floor creaked. Riku was standing in the doorway, Kairi close behind, craning to see over the taller boy. Riku lifted a silver brow. "Are we having a midnight meeting?"

Sora laughed a little, his voice kind of hoarse. "I guess you could say that."

"Can we join in?" Kairi chimed.

"What's the password?" Sora replied, face so serious it had to be an act.

"The password is 'shut up and move over so I can pull up a chair.'"

"Nice try, Riku, but you'll have to – ow!"

Riku boxed Sora's ears as he walked by and took a seat to the boy's left. Kairi settled in on his other side.

There was a slight pause as they all looked at Sora expectantly. Finally, he spoke. "I… I can't apologize for what I've done," he said, his face shadowed. "Not to the Organization, anyway. But – "

"You don't need to say sorry," Axel interjected.

"What?" Sora was nonplussed.

"There's no need to apologize. We were out to kill you. Well, for the most part. For a while there I just wanted to steal your heart so that I could turn you into a Heartless and get my best friend back, but hey, let's let bygones be bygones, eh?" Axel quirked a red eyebrow and rested his head on his hands.

Sora gaped like a fish. "But I killed them all, and they really did have feelings, and – "

"You did what you had to do," Yuffie said firmly. "They were kind of out to destroy the known world, you know. It's not like you could have let them live on the grounds that they had _feewings_."

"Still." Sora looked at the table. "They weren't monsters. I… I still remember Saïx's face, what he said as he died." He swallowed visibly. "He asked Kingdom Hearts where his heart was, and then he just… dissolved. And I didn't even care."

Kairi laid a hand over his on the table, and Riku clapped his shoulder. "You couldn't have known."

"But – "

"Enough," Axel said, his voice cold. "I've done some terrible things too, Sora." Yuffie watched his eyes burn with intensity. "But there's no time to dwell on that. We have to move on. We have to make up for it whatever way we can. You can repent for the people whose lives you ended by helping others and ending the Heartless for good."

Sora's eyes met Axel's and flashed. "You're right. Here's the plan."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Riku cut in. "You have a plan? Since when?"

"Since about thirty seconds ago, now quit inter – hey, quit it!" Sora laughed as Kairi tickled him.

"Stop being so serious," she chided. "It looks strange on you."

He cleared his throat. "Now if my friends will _stop_ making me look like an eight-year-old – " He sent them a half-hearted scowl. " – I will get back to business."

Yuffie swallowed laughter. Axel coughed a bit into his arm.

"Here's the plan. We need to go to Kingdom Hearts and find your heart, Axel."

They stared at him, all very obviously skeptical.

Riku was the one to speak up. "You're suggesting that we _go inside_ Kingdom Hearts."

Sora nodded, confident. "That's where all the hearts go, right?"

"When a Heartless dies, yeah."

"Well, that's as good a place to start as any, I think."

Again, they just looked at him for a few minutes, only this time instead of being filled with skepticism, they were actually thinking about his idea.

Kairi said, "Well, what if Axel's heart isn't in Kingdom Hearts?"

"I don't know, Kairi," Sora said. "But I think we'll have to cross that bridge if we come to it, y'know? We don't have any other places to go, really."

"And how do we even get inside? How do we know what's in there? No one's ever actually gotten into the place before." Riku frowned, pondering.

"We can't know until we see, can we?"

"Sora, I highly doubt it'll be a giant room filled with filing cabinets, with labeled hearts. Even if we do get in, and the place doesn't kill us or something, how will we find Axel's heart?"

"It'll be _his_ heart," Sora said. "He'll know it when he feels it."

"And how do you know?"

"Do you remember when I had Kairi's heart that whole time?"

"Yes. Of course."

"Well, I didn't know it, but that whole time, I felt _something_. I just didn't know what it was. Axel will know it when he gets close. I'm sure of it."

Before anyone could protest again, Yuffie said, "Let's do it!"

Axel fisted his hands in his hair, eyes wide. "There are so many things wrong with this, I don't even know where to begin. _Of course_ you want to do this. Of course."

"You wouldn't have me any other way." She grinned cheekily.

"You're right. Let's go."

"Wait." Riku held up a hand. "Where do we start?"

"The last place we saw Kingdom Hearts is our best bet," Sora said.

"The World That Never Was," Kairi breathed.

There was a pause. Then Axel said, "Well, if we're gonna do this, I'm gonna sleep first. No way am I going to that place with no rest. And breakfast. I'm not gonna be traipsing around the ruins of that world on an empty stomach."

"I'll show you to your rooms then," Kairi said.

Axel helped Yuffie out of her chair, and they followed Kairi down the hall.

-

Once they were shown to their rooms, Yuffie abandoned the notion of sleeping in her big bed alone and snuck into Axel's room. He was sitting up in bed, shirtless, the covers pooling around his waist.

"Waiting for me, eh?" She caught herself staring at the hard planes of his chest.

"Stop staring, and get over here. We've got a long day tomorrow."

"Yeah, yeah, quit your bitchin'. I'm coming."

Yuffie slipped in beside him, and they curled up together. Still, the combination of his hot breath on her neck, his warm body behind her, and the task before them kept her awake for a long while.


	20. Chapter 20

A/N: _I just want you people to know how I suffer for you. I was using Pandora to listen to music similar to Danny Elfman's and it pulled up "The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly." Which is a great song. But when writing the perilous tower climb parts of this chapter, it's a little incongruous and paints a funny picture in my head of Riku wielding a pistol or something._

_Enjoy._

-

Yuffie really was truly, sincerely grateful that Sora and Riku were coming along to help her and Axel. She was sure that, without their aid, she and her fiery pal would be out on a limb, trying to figure out where the hell they ought to go next.

However, she was definitely not feeling charitable toward them when Riku's foot was in her side, and Sora kept cracking really lame jokes. The Gummi Ship was _way _too small for this nonsense. Yufie and Axel had barely enough room to stand in it when it was just the two of them, but four people? Yeah, not cool.

"Riku," she said, trying to _un_-grit her teeth. "Your shoe – it's scraping."

Behind her, from his place on the floor, Riku said, "Sorry, Yuffie." He sounded a bit touchy. "I can't really get my leg in a place where it's not bruising your side or bruising _my_ ba – "

"Has anyone ever heard the one about the pirate who – "

"No."

"So you haven't heard it? Awesome! Okay, so this pirate – "

"_No_, Sora. One more joke, and you're going out the airlock, Chosen One or not." Yuffie craned her neck around to glared at Sora, who was blinking his big blue eyes.

"Are they that bad?" He scratched his head, managing to elbow Riku in the side in the process. The other boy frowned, rubbing the spot.

"Sora, now is _not_ the time," Riku said.

"Aw, okay…"

"How long until we get there?" Yuffie stared out into the vastness of space and sighed.

"Couple hours if I can get around all the Heartless ships and get this puppy into Warp Drive," Axel replied.

"Ugh."

He gave her a sidelong glance. "Did you ever hear the one about the – "

"Axel."

He snickered.

She scowled and patted Riku's foot, settling in for a nap.

-

Some time later, Yuffie jolted awake as the ship gave a giant lurch. The screech of plastic and metal could be heard as something _wrenched_, hard.

"What the – "

"Hold on to your hats, ladies and gents!" Axel shouted. "We've got some problems!"

"Define 'problems'!" Sora yelled.

Yuffie watched in horror as the ship was surrounded by Heartless vessels. They were clustered around The World That Never Was like some kind of insect swarm.

"But this world doesn't have a heart," Sora protested as Axel almost barrel-rolled their ship. "Why are there so many Heartless here if there's nothing to take?"

"Maleficent still controls them," Riku replied. "She's probably got them guarding this place in case of _any_ eventualities. She's paranoid that way."

"That's all fine and dandy, but we need to find a landing space, and quickly." Axel grimaced as the ship took another harsh blow. "That's not good!"

"Axel, over there!" Yuffie shrieked, pointing to the left.

He swerved, jerking the wheel abruptly, trying to get to an opening in the mass of ships surrounding them.

"Yuffie!" he bellowed.

"On it!"

She knew what he needed before he even shouted an order. Frantically, she scrambled for the controls to the ship's main cannon and artillery. Cid had, like any good Gummi builder, equipped the vessel with ways to defend itself against the Heartless hordes dominating space.

Yuffie struggled to really damage anything, as her aim was constantly thrown as Axel swerved to avoid the firepower sent their way. Yuffie took out one ship, two ships, three, and four, but there were five more to replace every one she destroyed.

Finally, there was a break in the flow, and Axel headed for it as fast as he could, throwing the ship into its highest gear, just shy of Warp Drive. Yuffie could feel the walls shuddering around them, not taking the damage very well, and she prayed to any deity listening they would make it through this alive.

She could feel shots hitting them as they sped toward the surface of The World That Never Was, and she wondered if the ship was going to hold out.

"HOLD ON, WE'RE GOING IN FOR A ROUGH LANDING!"

Yuffie was pretty sure everyone in the ship screamed except for Axel, who had the most intense look on his face she had ever seen as they hit the atmosphere, and the ship juddered even more. She could feel the heat as the friction was too high at such a speed, the walls starting to burn and the temperature rising.

Finally, they broke through, heading toward the ground at a very dangerous speed. Axel reined in the ship as best he could, but their landing was still rough. Yuffie could see that they were heading for a large cluster of skyscrapers and buildings in what looked like a city of some sort. There was not a stretch of open land to be seen.

Yuffie just barely had time to yell, "GRIT YOUR TEETH!" before they hit a building, and she almost bit her own tongue off for taking that chance.

The ship rolled and skittered to a stop, its occupants yelling all the while, tossed about like dice. When finally they had stopped moving, they were upside down, on the ceiling of the ship.

"Is everyone okay?" Sora asked. He had a bloody lip and seemed to be developing a black eye.

"Oh, my ribs…" Riku winced.

Having been buckled in, Axel and Yuffie had fared the best out of all of them, but they were still hanging from the upended floor of the ship. Carefully, Yuffie unbuckled herself, slumping on the floor – ceiling – in a heap. Axel followed shortly afterward, knocking the wind out of her with his impact.

"Oof!"

"Sorry," he groaned.

"Can we get the hell out of here?" Yuffie groused.

"Yes, please," Riku agreed, hugging his torso. "I could definitely do with a healing spell or a potion. I think I may have broken something."

"All right, let's open the hatch," Axel said, wriggling over to it and somehow maneuvering so that he could turn the damn thing.

They all sighed in relief when the hatch popped open with a slight hiss of air. Sora was the first to climb out, his Keyblade materializing in his hand with a flash of white light. Riku followed, another Keyblade forming for him. Yuffie brought up the rear.

She looked back to see Axel messing with the control panel on the ceiling. He was pressing some buttons, and it looked as though it was sparking rather unsafely, but he grinned with triumph when a voice crackled over the speakers.

"Cid here," the voice buzzed.

"Cid, it's me – Axel. We've crash-landed on what used to be The World That Never Was. We're going to need some assistance, and you're the only people we've got. Can you bring in the big guns? There's a _lot_ of Heartless around the world. That's what caused the initial trouble."

"There's no way you can get the ship working again, I take it?"

Yuffie watched Axel shake his head. "No. We're going to need you to pick us up, and there's no telling when. Can you just come as soon as possible? Can you find the place?"

"Navigation systems should pick it up," he said. "We'll be there soon as we can."

"We're going to the Castle. Bring a big ship. Thanks, Cid. Over and out."

The radio cut off with an abrupt crackle.

Axel exited the ship and materialized his chakrams. Yuffie already had her large shuriken in her hands, and she had made sure her pouches of throwing stars were easily accessible.

They had "landed" just on the outskirts of a city – a ruined one. Edifices swept into the sky, towering over them like giants. Many of the windows were broken, and some structures had toppled into each other or were crumbling into pieces. The place looked exceedingly dangerous, some of the buildings ready to collapse at any moment. Yuffie could see that some new debris had been knocked loose by their crash.

"Where – "

"The Dark City," Sora said quietly.

"What happened to it?" she asked.

"We kinda made a mess when we beat Xemnas," he replied.

Yuffie glanced at Axel in time to see his eyes flutter closed briefly. A pang went through her heart when she saw that expression on his face.

"Axel?"

He looked at her, his green eyes unwavering. "I'm fine. This wasn't much of a home to me anyway. Not after Roxas left." Sora gazed at him at the mention of Roxas, his face unreadable. "Now can someone please cast a healing spell?"

Yuffie fished a couple of hi-potions out of her pockets, and Sora took care of the rest of them with magic. She sighed as the minty taste of the potion filled her mouth and healed her minor abrasions. She saw the others relax a tad as well, Riku rubbing his chest gratefully. The black around Sora's eye melted away, and his lip sealed over, the puffiness receding.

"Right, let's get this show on the road," Sora said in a low but cheerful voice, signaling for them to follow his lead.

Yuffie hefted her shuriken. "Where are we going exactly?"

Her companions turned to look at her, each one grave. Axel said, "The Castle That Never Was."

"Oh, your old stomping grounds, eh?"

The ghost of a smile played around the corner of his mouth. "You could say that."

"So I'm guessing you used to play pool and drink a few beers with your buddies there." Yuffie tried to keep the grin off her face.

"Don't forget feeling up girls and sneaking out at night," he added, rolling his eyes.

"I knew it."

"Hmph."

They crept along at an agonizingly slow pace, checking alleys and corridors for any sign of trouble. Conversation was sparse at best, and tensions were running high. Occasionally, a Shadow or two popped into existence, and the four fighters rocketed into action, quickly disposing of any threats. The further they traveled into the city, the more frequent the Heartless encounters became. They were running into them by the scores, and Nobodies were mixed in with each batch, making the going slow. Yuffie thanked her lucky stars that they had managed to convince the rather stubborn Kairi into staying behind. It was just too dangerous to have a non-fighter accompanying them on this trip.

After around an hour of fighting and walking, they came to a tower that had been halfway destroyed by another building falling against it. The structure had several cracked viewing screens on its top, and images – interspersed with bursts of static and white noise – were flickering across their surfaces.

Most of the images flashed by too quickly to be recognizable, but Yuffie was able to pick out some things. A glimpse of hot desert sun – the scowling face of a man with dreads, whirling spears surrounding him – Kairi, her eyes lifeless and dead – the sandy shores of Destiny Islands – Traverse Town and its eternal night – white rooms, so many white rooms and corridors – a white throne room – a girl with curly brown hair, laughing alongside a short, tubby boy in a hat, and a boy in camouflage-patterned pants – Maleficent, morphing into a hideous dragon – what looked like a boy's bedroom – the swirling darkness between worlds – Saïx swinging for her and being blasted by an All Creation.

There were things she knew had come straight from her head as well – the library at Hollow Bastion – Tifa laughing – Cid chewing a toothpick – Tron shaking her hand – the stone steps of the Bailey – the bustling marketplace of Agrabah – the vale teeming with Heartless – the look on Axel's face after he kissed her, before he was prepared to leave – Jack Sparrow smirking at her – Axel shirtless, clad in nothing but his towel –

"What is this?" Yuffie breathed, hating to be the one who didn't know _anything_ about the area.

"Memory's Skyscraper," Axel supplied.

Sora turned. "Is that what it's called? I never knew it had a name."

Their redheaded companion nodded. "It displays memories."

"Our memories?" Yuffie was sure she had just seen Kairi screaming something, her hair shorter and her body more juvenile.

"It manifests the memories of those closest to it, yes. It's broken, though, as you can see."

His voice tinged with unease, Riku said, "Let's go. We've got a lot of ground to cover."

"Right."

Axel lingered, and Yuffie turned to see him staring at the image of a laughing, blonde-haired boy, winking in and out on the screen between bursts of static, his face distorted by the cracks. A grin had spread over Axel's face, a look of fond remembrance.

"That's him, huh?"

He swallowed and looked at her. "Yeah."

"You look so happy when you look at him."

"He was a great friend." He stared at Sora's retreating back.

Yuffie clapped a hand on his shoulder. "And now he's part of another great friend."

"Yeah." He looked one last time at the crackling image of Roxas before turning away. "Let's go. Don't wanna let them get so far ahead of us."

"Aye, aye, Captain Hot Pants!" She saluted him and jogged to catch up, with Axel following close behind her.

Soon enough, they were at the edge of a yawning chasm, over the top of which floated the remains of a castle.

"The Castle That Never Was," Riku said, twirling his Keyblade.

"It sure looks like it _Was_ to me," Yuffie said, adjusting her bandana. She took note of the wide band of light that extended from the lip of the rift to the entrance of said castle. Actually, it looked more like the back entrance.

Axel scowled at her. "I give that a two out of ten."

"Oh, come on, that was gold and you know it!"

"The 'gold' standard must have fallen without me knowing it then."

Yuffie was about to spit a no-doubt-very-witty retort in his direction when he stepped toward the band of blue light. She gasped, choked, and almost tackled him until she saw that his feet were resting solidly on the thing. It was, in fact, a path.

She breathed a sigh of relief, and he smirked at her. "Scared ya, didn't I?"

"Psh, no. I'm just disappointed you didn't fall through it."

"Mmhmm," he said, unconvinced.

Riku and Sora were watching this conversation with no small amount of amusement. Riku followed Axel, who was advancing up the path. "Well, if we're done exchanging witty repartee, I think we should get going again."

Yuffie scurried after them, falling back to take the rear with Axel, who had slowed down to walk beside her.

"What do you think we'll find once we're in there?"

He concentrated on where, exactly, he was placing his feet. "Heartless and the occasional Nobody."

"I'm guessing the Nobodies wouldn't have disappeared with the Organization," Yuffie mused.

"No. There are still powerful beings whose hearts have been taken. There are still shells left behind. We didn't make the Nobodies, so they're still around."

Yuffie shivered at the way he looked when he said that, his eyes narrowed, his mouth set in a thin line.

They were at the "door" to the castle then. Where there may have been a barrier at some point, now there was nothing but a gaping maw for a threshold. They entered cautiously, immediately encountering rubble and obstacles in the form of collapsed walls and ceilings. However, the main floor, which was slightly elevated, seemed to be mostly intact – if rather unstable-looking – so they proceeded with caution, wending over debris and around shaky spots in the floor. Many of the beams from the ceiling had fallen through.

"This room is 'Nothing's Call,'" Axel said ominously.

"Well… what was it used for?"

"It's, well, kind of a storage area for – "

"So it's a basement?" Yuffie heaved herself over a pile of dusty plaster and sheetrock, grimacing as it got all over her hands and clothes. That would be hard to get out of fabric.

"I mean, there were generators here too, for – "

"It's a basement. Named Nothing's Call."

Axel frowned. "Yeah."

"What the hell kind of name is that for a basement?"

Riku and Sora snickered, turning their laughter into coughs when Axel shot them a nasty look.

"All you do is put old dog food bowls and last year's holiday decorations and old clothes and photo albums and junk down here, right? What's with the fancy name?"

Yuffie was hitting her stride now, struggling not to laugh at the perplexed and disgruntled look on his face.

"She does have a point," Riku supplied. Axel shot him a quelling glance. The silver-haired boy just shrugged elegantly.

"I don't know! I didn't name the – LOOK OUT!"

Unaware of what he was warning her about, Yuffie just instinctively tucked and rolled, feeling the air above her body disturbed as she did so. Lightning-quick, she tumbled to the side and into a crouch, her shuriken held in front of her defensively.

Where her head had been moments ago was what she was sure was a Nobody. It was surrounded by translucent, ephemeral cube formations that twitched and rearranged themselves spasmodically. The cubes flailed, coming straight toward her, and she did her best to block with her weapon, feeling the insubstantial-looking things pushing her back, toward the edge of the raised floor.

She prepared herself for the fall into the depths below the walkway, but it didn't come. Axel had snapped his fingers and set the thing on fire from a distance, distracting it. It made no sound as it burned, flailing, the cube formation starting to jitter out of control. After a moment, it dissolved, leaving nothing behind.

Yuffie panted. "What the hell was that?"

"Sorcerer. Xemnas used to control them."

Sora ran a hand through his hair. "They hung around this room a lot, last time I was here."

Yuffie stood, brushing herself off and only succeeding in getting more dust on herself. "Note to self: don't make fun of Axel so much that you don't pay attention to what's up ahead."

"Right, well, if we're all through here, can we please get _out_ of 'Nothing's Call'?" Riku quirked an eyebrow at all of them. "I don't want to run into another one of those things."

"Yeah, they give me the creeps."

"Agreed," Yuffie said.

So they ascended the stone stairs, helping each other out as they went along, and entered the next room, which contained…

Nothing. There was nothing in it. And not in a haha-the-Nobodies-are-using-wordplay-again way, either. The room was empty. Again, the floor was raised, and there was a lot of gaping, cavernous white space beneath them, littered with debris, fallen columns, and dusty plaster – but nothing else.

"Er…" Yuffie looked around, confused.

"This is Crooked Ascension."

"What." She leveled a deadpan look at him.

He sighed, waving a hand at their surroundings. "An elevator."

"…right."

"What do we do to make it – eep!"

As Sora – the last one to enter – stepped onto the platform, the floor beneath them began to shake, and a terrible screeching, grinding noise echoed around them. Rubble and rocks clattered together and rolled off the platform, into the abyss below. Yuffie flailed as the sudden, upward movement threw her off balance, and she grabbed at Axel's arm. He reached out and steadied himself and her.

"That's how it moves," Axel said.

"Yeah, I think I figured that out myself."

"I'm surprised it still works after all the damage." Riku calmly observed their surroundings.

"I always did kind of like this room," Sora mused, scratching his chin.

Yuffie muttered, "You would."

The lift halted with a groan, shuddering into place. There was a sort of click and a dim flash of light, and it stopped completely. There was a door, opposite from where the opening on the other side had been.

Yuffie stepped toward it, intending to lead, but was forced to backflip out of the way when something lashed out at her from the floor. She had seen it just in time, right before she put her foot down. Coming out of her backflip, she attacked the spiky limb whipping toward her with a vicious vertical swipe of her shuriken.

Cartwheeling backward, she snatched three throwing stars from her pockets and flung those too, almost too fast for the others in the room to see her. They embedded in the Nobody, and she watched it twitch with pain and then rise out of the floor, going for a direct attack.

She rolled out of the way, Sora leaping into action in a series of acrobatic moves that made her eyes almost cross. He hit it with an aerial attack as it floated above them, giving it no time at all to retaliate. Soon, it was dead, and Yuffie somersaulted over to grab her throwing stars after they clattered to the ground, the Nobody vanishing in its death throes.

"Well, that was a close – "

Axel shoved one hand over her shoulder, letting off a sizzling hot fireball. She turned just in time to see another of those Nobodies catch fire and shake it off, heading straight toward them. She was prepared to throw the three stars still in her hand when she heard a shout and twisted around to see that Sora and Riku were fighting two more.

"What are these things?" she yelled.

"Assassins!" Axel bent backward at the waist to avoid a blow from one of its appendages. "Avoid their aboveground attacks! They're really powerful!"

"Ack!" One blasted her backward right as he said that. She hit the floor of the platform and bounced, skidding to a stop right before the edge. The floor underneath her was cracked and uneven.

She rolled as she felt it starting to give way, just in time for it to fall into the abyss below and for an Assassin to hit the spot where she had been moments before. Yuffie rolled into a crouch and then sprang on it, pinwheeling her shuriken in a volley of shallow slash attacks.

The Assassin wasn't dead yet, though. Yuffie had to cut it down with _ten_ more throwing stars before it was finally dead, and even then it was only through a few of Axel's well-placed fireballs that it didn't take her head off.

Sora and Riku took care of theirs right as she and Axel took out the third. Yuffie opened her mouth to congratulate them on a job well done when three more appeared. And when those were disposed of, three more took their place.

Finally, after they had killed fifteen, the procession stopped.

"Bastard things," Axel panted. "I used to control them, but they weren't listening to any of my commands."

"Commands?"

He wiped his mouth on his sleeve, trying to catch his breath. "When I was part of the Organization, I was able to exert control over them through my will. But after I turned traitor, I lost the ability."

"Must've been something Xemnas did," Riku said.

"That's all I can figure anyway, 'cause when Roxas deserted, he couldn't control the Samurai anymore."

"Never seen so many of them," Sora said.

Axel fished in his pockets and guzzled a hi-potion, looking instantly rejuvenated. "All I can figure is that after the Organization stopped controlling them, they gathered here."

With that, they ventured into the next room, which was actually a staircase that was, for the most part, intact.

Rikku looked around with narrowed eyes. "Looks like most of the damage to the main tower is on the upper floors. Lucky us."

The room itself was beautiful – mostly comprised of a crystalline staircase. Yuffie trod over it carefully, making sure to look out for cracks or weak spots. At one point, Sora accidentally put a foot through the floor, but Axel reached out and hauled him back up before he could meet his untimely end on the floor far below.

"Sheesh, you'd think Xemnas could've, I dunno, put some walls or floors in or something. Stupid tower."

"He was just like that," Axel said. "He liked the beauty in complicated architecture – thus, this castle."

Sora said, "Have to admit, the place is pretty cool."

"Even if it is a bit eerie with no one in it." Rikku rubbed his upper arms.

The next room looked like it had been elegant at one time. For the most part, it was destroyed.

"Looks like we're reaching the real damage now." Riku hefted his Keyblade.

"Too bad," Axel said. "The Hall of Empty Melodies used to be really beautiful."

Yuffie saw the remains of some exquisite sculpture on the far side of the room, and any glimpses of the floor she could get were dominated by intricate patterns in the stone. The place had high ceilings and once again a raised platform for a floor.

There was a problem, however.

"How the heck are we gonna get across that?" Sora scratched his head with his Keyblade hand, and Yuffie winced as she anticipated decapitation.

Where there must have previously been a walkway connecting the elevated floor with the doorway, now there was nothing but empty space, with a doozy of a drop below. Something had crashed down from the ceiling and landed, destroying it entirely. Now, where there should have been floor, there was about ten feet of empty space.

Yuffie looked at Axel with a contemplative expression. He raised an eyebrow after a few moments. "What?"

She cocked her head to the side. "Can you still do that whole 'blasting yourself off like a rocket' deal?"

"You mean with the fire?"

"Yeah, with the burning and the flames and stuff."

"Yeah, I can still do it." He looked at her, expecting more, then said, "Wait. You don't mean you want me to – " She nodded. "Oh, man, that's such a waste of energy."

"Oh, come on! It can't be that hard."

He sighed. "Fine. Who's first?"

Sora looked at Riku, who looked back at Sora. At the same time, they pointed at each other.

Yuffie rolled her eyes. "Babies. Let's go, Axel."

He looped an arm around her waist and directed a hand toward the floor. A column of flame blasted out from the appendage, propelling them up into a high arc over the hole and onto the other side. For a moment, Yuffie was afraid they'd land somewhere crumbly, but they were safe on a steady bit.

Axel retrieved Riku and Sora in the same fashion, and Yuffie breathed a sigh of relief when they were all over the gap and together again. Even a mere ten feet of separation made her nervous – splitting up was not safe here.

The door out of the place was blocked by a large pile of debris, which Sora promptly took care of with a firaga blast.

They were met by a rather discouraging sight. Where Yuffie assumed there had previously been a walkway, there was now nothing but a thin, rubble-strewn ledge in its place. In some spots, chunks of the path extended almost to their previous lengths, but they looked very unstable, ready to fall at any moment.

"Uh…"

"Naught's Skyway." Axel tsked. "I guess it really _is_ a skyway now. All sky."

"I'm guessing this used to be a path."

"Yep," Sora said. "It wraps around the tower. Well, it used to."

"So what're we gonna do?"

"We're going to have be really, really careful," Axel said, shrugging. "I'll lead."

"No, _I'll_ lead," Sora said.

"The Keyblade wielder and Defender of the Light is _not_ going to lead the way over a dangerous path that could fall out from under him at any moment," Yuffie said. "That's just dumb."

Sora's shoulders slumped. "Fine. We'll do it your way."

Axel smirked. "Logic is fun."

They began the slow trek around the tower, leaning into the stone behind their backs. Axel led, with Yuffie, Sora, and Riku following behind. At best, the stone lip around the tower extended to approximately six inches in length. Several times they had to stop as Axel put his foot down and the rock fell away. Each time, they watched as it plummeted into the vastness below.

Along the way, Yuffie made conversation.

"You know, I never thought to ask – what the hell happened to this place? I sorta just assumed Sora tore it up, but now I wanna know the specifics."

"Well," Riku grunted, concentrating, "when Sora and I fought Xemnas, he sort of ripped up parts of the castle to… er… throw at us."

"He threw bits of castle at you?" Yuffie almost made a flailing arm gesture, but then thought that might not be very wise, considering current circumstances.

"Yep. Then when we killed him, he sort of… took out most of the main tower with him. As you can see."

"Uh-huh."

Then came the hard part. At one point, near the end, their foothold thinned out to around two inches in length. There was no way to put their feet down without falling straight off. They had come to a standstill, mere feet from their goal.

"Now what?" Yuffie stared.

Without answering them, Axel jumped. Yuffie tried to grab for him, but she couldn't do much without falling off the tower.

"_Axel!_" Sora bellowed.

"Calm down, I'm right down here."

They all looked down to see his fingers gripping the ledge, white-knuckled, as he supported his weight entirely by hanging off the edge with his hands.

"Don't you _ever_ do that again," Yuffie hissed, "or I will eviscerate you with your own chakrams, you bastard."

He grinned. "Come on, I know what I'm doing."

"Yeah, and I'm Maleficent. Now budge over so I can follow along."

Axel scooted, showing an amazing amount of strength in his skinny arms.

Yuffie slipped down in the same fashion, twisting in mid-air to grab the handhold. She breathed a sigh of relief when she was successful.

"Afraid I was gonna die for a minute there."

Axel called up, "Think you can do this?"

Sora smiled widely. "Duh!"

They moved along at an agonizing pace. Yuffie was sure her arms were going to fall off, and she was also sure that they were _never_ going to get there. Ever. She was going to slip and fall off the tower, and she was going to hit the ground below, and her bones would break, and her eyeballs would pop out, and her brains would splatter all over the –

"Need a hand?"

Axel was reaching down to her, his fingers in her face. She grasped the offered appendage and hauled herself up, helping Sora and Riku afterward.

"I don't know about you guys, but I'm casting some cures on my arms," Yuffie said, doing just that. They were shaking from the exertion, and her fingers were aching terribly, strained.

They followed suit, visibly relaxing as their arms were fixed.

"Now let's get a move on." Sora led the way this time, shooting Axel an amused look.

Yuffie almost gaped at the destruction before them. One entire half of this room had caved in, including where a door should have been, and it was clear that, no matter what genius strategies they might have been able to come up with this time, there was no getting through this mess.

"I guess this is where the tower sort of… stops being a tower. After this, there's nothing left. The Altar of Naught and everything else were destroyed," Riku said grimly.

"There's gotta be some way through this," Sora said.

Before anyone could answer, Riku went flying across the room, hitting a pile of rubble hard, his Keyblade flung in the opposite direction. They whirled as a unit, weapons prepared for the previously-unseen opponent.

They were met with the gaunt faces of nearly a hundred Nobodies and Heartless swarming into the room.

"I think they know we're here now, guys," Yuffie hissed.


	21. Chapter 21

"_I think they know we're here now, guys," Yuffie hissed._

Before anyone could react, before the Heartless and Nobodies could get too close, Axel spread his feet, settled his gaze on them, and _glared_. A wall of flames rippled out of thin air, almost too bright to look upon directly. The creatures hit the fire, being too close to stop or too stupid to recognize the danger immediately, and the air was filled with the sizzle of flesh and the unearthly squeals of the beasts.

"How long do we have before they get through that?" Sora called, helping Riku to his feet. The other boy flung his arm out, and the Keyblade in the far corner vanished, reappearing in his hand.

"Three minutes, five at the most," Axel said. "It won't take them long to start firing spells at it. A few good blizzagas and that wall's going down."

"We _have_ to get to a more open space," Yuffie said. "There's no way we can fight here. Not enough room."

"I know one thing," Riku said. "We aren't going out the way we came."

Yuffie was starting to cough from the acrid smoke filling the room. The fragrance of burning Heartless was not something she wanted to smell ever again after this. She sucked in a lungful of smoke, hacking.

"Where do we go now?" She had to shout over the roar of enraged Heartless and Nobodies.

They all stared blankly at each other for a moment, then realization washed over Sora's face like a wave. He didn't say anything as he dashed over to a pile of rubble – one that didn't look any different than the other piles of rubble to Yuffie – and started to dig, frenzied, blasting and throwing plaster and stone around willy-nilly.

Without hesitation, Axel grabbed her wrist and hauled her with him, Riku a half-step ahead of them. They all started to dig, occasionally tossing something straight through the barrier of fire.

"Please let it be here, please," Sora muttered fervently, his knuckles bleeding from his furious pace.

After about twenty seconds of the fastest labor Yuffie had ever experienced, they came across something. The more they uncovered, the more Yuffie saw that the object looked slightly like a tombstone. It had the Nobody symbol emblazoned on it, and it was glowing, emitting a soft blue wash of light even through the dust.

"Wha – "

"Go! Now!" Axel shoved her, and she stumbled – her hands hit the top of it, her foot connected with the platform, and the world shifted, warping at the corners. She blinked, flailing out of a shimmering blue doorway.

She was in a hallway of sorts, separated from a larger room by a partition. Her only thought was, _Gotta get to open space_, and she ran for it, shuriken in her hands. As she skidded around the corner of the partition, she heard the footfalls of the guys behind her, heavy and frantic.

Yuffie's eyes widened as she saw the giant window, a fat, heart-shaped moon hanging in the sky. Its yellow light shone into the room, tinting their surroundings.

That was all she had time to process as she, Riku, Sora, and Axel arranged themselves in a square formation – back-to-back-to-back-to-back – in order to keep an eye on every part of the room and make sure each teammate was safe. Chances were they wouldn't be able to hold the shape, but any advantage – however small – was a good one at this point.

"Where do you think they are?" she panted.

"Oh, they'll be here soon enough," Riku said, his voice low.

"They'll realize we're not there in a moment." Axel's voice was rough from the smoke in the previous room.

"Where are we? Why is this place here?"

"This was Saïx's favorite haunt. We're lucky it's still mostly intact," Riku explained.

"That's Kingdom Hearts." Axel nodded toward the heart-shaped moon in the sky. Yuffie gazed at it wonderingly. "Once we get done here, we'll have to find a way inside."

"How's everyone holding up?" Yuffie could feel Sora shift beside her.

"Good, for the most part. Inventory?" Yuffie checked her pockets even as she asked the question. "I have five hi-potions left, and – "

"Where do you keep those things?"

"Trade secret. And three ethers, if anyone needs them," she finished.

"Got a couple of potions, know how to do magic," Riku said.

"Same here."

"Yep."

Yuffie opened her mouth to make more nervous conversation – the room was so still – when the first of the Heartless materialized, a corridor to the darkness rending the air in front of their eyes. Riku craned his neck to see it as he felt his companions tense.

He didn't have to do that for long, though. Soon there were so many that the room was crowded, space becoming scarce. To make matters worse, Nobodies were appearing by the dozens. There seemed to be no end to them. They crawled over every corner of the room, masses of them undulating, even going so far as to squabble amongst themselves.

Their little ragtag team didn't wait for the beasts to make the first move. Axel waved a wide open hand at them, and a large swathe of Shadows immediately caught fire, taken out in one go – Yuffie wondered how many times he could do that.

Yuffie herself was chucking throwing stars in every direction. She thrust her shuriken at any approaching threat, slicing several Dusks in two and warding off plenty of Neoshadows. She couldn't see what Riku was doing, but he sounded busy casting spells, and she thought she saw a weird, shimmering barrier erected at one point. Sora raised his Keyblade, and Yuffie felt the crackle of magic raise the hair on her arms.

"What was that?"

"A reflect! Weakens physical blows," Sora replied, his voice close to her ear.

Sure enough, some of the smaller attacks – low-level spells and Shadow swipes – were bouncing off completely, and Yuffie was having less trouble deflecting some of the normally more powerful Nobodies.

"Breaking the form!" Axel shouted at them, running into the fray.

Before she leapt into action, Yuffie saw him burst into a whirlwind of flames, a literal tornado of fire surrounding him. It twisted up into the air and around him, annihilating everything it came into contact with. He spun with it, faster than she could keep track, his chakrams reflecting the orange light.

Yuffie very soon found herself engaged in a battle with a swarm of Dancer Nobodies – her absolute worst enemies. They frequented certain places in Radiant Garden, and whenever she encountered them, she simply booked it out of the way. They were absolutely vicious despite their beauty and delicate looks. She had often had to limp home after a meeting with even a couple of Dancers.

Luckily, she was on her A-game. Adrenaline coursed through her veins, heightening her awareness and infusing her with a strength she never knew existed.

"Not today," she growled as the pink Nobodies wormed their way toward her, caressing the air with their flexible limbs. That was the danger in them – beautiful, but if you got too close, they'd kick your ass.

Yuffie was just as sinuous today, though, just as lightning quick and light on her feet. She twirled out of the way of their grabs and attacks, a twister of motion. If she hadn't been so determined to not _die_, she probably would have laughed at the almost-fun she was having.

One of them lunged for her. She bent backward at the waist, letting it sweep past her back. Another _swirled_ in her direction, but she sprang into the air and kicked off of its head, sending several throwing stars into the crowd of Dancers below, landing amongst a swarm of Neoshadows. She dodged their ripping claws and cartwheeled back to her lovely opponents, throwing a smoke bomb over her shoulder.

She wished briefly that she had the firepower Axel carried, but then she somersaulted under a vicious blow (coming from several directions and individuals at once, actually) and came up in the middle of the throng, spinning with shuriken out, and realized she rather liked being a ninja.

Carefully, concentrating with every ounce of will she had, Yuffie pushed some of her spirit power into her weapon. She felt as if she was using All Creation on a smaller scale, and she wondered how long she would be able to use this technique without collapsing from exhaustion, but her shuriken was slicing through things so smoothly, vibrating and glowing just slightly under her hands.

Several times she wondered how Axel and the others were faring, but she didn't have to go far to find them.

At one point, she tackled Riku out of the way of a fireball shot by a large Heartless. They rolled over the ground in a tangle of limbs, grazed by claws and fangs and fists as they bumped over the floor.

When they came to a stop, Riku hauled her to her feet and said, "Does it look like it's thinning to you?"

"They just keep coming!"

"This is bad."

Riku pushed in the direction opposite her, a strange, shining barrier erected around him. Heartless and Nobodies scattered in every direction as he did so, and in their moments trying to recover balance, Riku cut them down viciously, his mouth a hard line. Balls of dark energy spewed forth from his Keyblade, dissolving opponents.

His hair was plastered to his face, dripping with sweat, the wet spikes sticking up in every direction on top of his head. The taught lines of his body rippled with exertion.

Yuffie was suddenly glad he was on their side.

"Yuffie! Need a hand?"

"I'm doing just fine without you, Sora!" She punctuated this statement by throwing her shuriken in a huge arc, cutting down and injuring quite a few of their opponents.

"I'm tired of working alone," he said from right next to her, and they fought together for a while.

Where Riku was lithe and intense, Sora was a crackling ball of energy. He bounced from one enemy to the next like rubber, slashing into them with wide eyes and wild abandon. His moves were not calculated – but skilled nonetheless. Yuffie was glad he had learned a few things in his journey, and she watched while he launched into a volley of aerial attacks that left her eyes crossing with their speed and complexity.

He landed in a crouch next to her, grinning as he saw the look on her face. "You okay? Pick up the pace, I'm gonna start making you look bad!"

"Not a chance!" she laughed, getting to work on a couple of Dragoon Nobodies, dodging lances like limbo sticks.

She rolled and jumped and ducked out of the way, trying to seize an opening on the creatures. Several times Sora had to stop an oncoming attack from a different enemy at her back, but finally, she saw what she needed to do.

Her shuriken in her left hand, Yuffie snatched one of the lances out of mid-air. The Nobody fairly buzzed with anger, but she just rammed the pole straight through it, grinning with triumph. The thing slumped to the ground and vanished, taking its lance with it. The other one was wiser, having observed her previous actions, so she was forced to wear away at it with her shuriken until it finally faded.

Yuffie whipped around in preparation for any blows from behind, but instead, she was met with the miraculous sight of Sora pinballing around the room with a Keyblade in each hand, tearing into anything that crossed his path. His clothes were a pure, gleaming white.

_No time to get distracted, Yuffie, amazing as he tends to be_, she thought, shaking herself and returning to the battle at hand. _Be nice if I could use two shurikens without cutting my own hands off._

She ran into Axel shortly afterward – really ran into him, in fact, almost falling to the floor and being taken out by a pile of Neoshadows. He sent a short blast into their midst, and Yuffie could smell her hair burning as it swept over her head and grazed her.

"Sheesh, cut that a little closer next time, will ya?"

"Get up and get moving," he snarled, all business.

"Is it me, or are there _more_ than before?"

"It's not just you."

"Think I should break out my secret weapon?"

Axel put his back to hers while they focused on the battle. "Not yet. Wait until I can guard you."

"Aye, aye!"

They worked together from that point on, in sync in a strange, battle-born way. She had fought alongside many people, but she and Axel were the most compatible in battle, probably in part due to the similarities in their weapons and their light-footed-ness.

Lucky for her too, because the healing spells in her arsenal were losing their effectiveness. She could feel the minor cuts and abrasions starting to add up. There was only so long a person could fight before his or her body just gave out, and Yuffie wasn't sure how far off her breaking point was. She hoped the others were faring better.

They couldn't lose. They had to do this. For Axel.

_She_ had to do this. For him. For herself.

She surged forward with renewed vigor, crying out with battle lust.

Axel yelled, "Brace yourself!"

Yuffie did, and he snaked his arm around her waist. She knew what he was going to do next, so she stuck her legs out and windmill-kicked the circle of enemies surrounding them as he spun her. When he put her down, she hooked her arms under his from behind. Axel bent forward quickly, sending her feet into the air. She caught a Dusk in the face and launched it up and away.

"I'm bored," he drawled in her ear.

"Oh, yeah? Wanna add some spice?" Yuffie smirked.

"You thinking what I'm thinking?"

He cupped his hands, and she used them as a springboard for a flying leap. In a split second, she concentrated spirit energy into her weapon and let it fly. It glowed blue with energy and whirled around her at all angles as she somersaulted back to the floor. Several Nobodies shrieked as the shuriken cut through their defenses.

Axel raised his eyebrows as she panted, "Man, that takes a lot out of me."

Axel set his chakrams on fire. Yuffie kept her eyes on him, parrying and thrusting, and observed as he threw both of his weapons with a mighty heave. He kept his eyes on them, waving his hands a little as they boomeranged through the air, winding and twisting unnaturally. She thought he must be controlling it with his willpower.

"I need to get me some burny powers."

He grinned, catching his weapons and twisting out of the way of another attack. "You wish you were this hot." She cut off the head of a Neoshadow going his way and lifted an imperious eyebrow.

"You were saying?"

And it went on like that. Yuffie wasn't sure how long they had been fighting – it could have been hours, it could've been thirty minutes. She was wearing down, bit by bit, and she could tell the others were too. There were just too many of them, and she was out of hi-potions and neat tricks.

"We've gotta get a leg up this," she called to Axel. He was only a few feet away from her. With alarm, she noticed that there was blood soaking through his white shirt. "What happened?"

"It's nothing," he snarled. "Ignore it."

"Where's Sora? He can heal you – "

"No! He can't afford to expend the effort right now!"

"But – "

"It's time for you to use All Creation," he interjected. "Get ready, I'm going to cut down everything nearby. Maybe this will give us the advantage that we need."

Yuffie doubted it, but they had to try _something_. With a last desperate look at the heart-shaped moon in the sky, she readied her shuriken in her hand, its four blades gleaming wickedly, as if to say, _We got this_.

Sweat poured from her, sticking her hair to her scalp and drenching her bandana, the ties of which slapped feebly against her face every time she moved. She was covered in soot and blood and sticky black Heartless fluid. She lifted her shuriken, the blades slick in her hands.

Despite the window, smoke choked the room and seared her eyes, making them stream. She was coughing frequently, trying to get oxygen into her lungs and failing. The smell was awful as well, making her ill.

Axel's green eyes, hardening, scanned their surroundings. Each spot they landed on, a pillar of flame shot up toward the ceiling, burning white hot. Nobodies and Heartless shrieked with pain as they were burned alive. She cast a worried glance at the spreading blossom of blood on his shirt before swallowing her fears, spreading her feet, and focusing as hard as she could.

She was halfway through readying her All Creation when she heard Axel let out a choking, gurgling noise.

Her heart nearly stopping, she whipped around to look in his direction. She was met by a terrifying sight. He had been impaled straight through the chest with a Dragoon's lance, and something inside her twisted. His torso was a mess of blood, his face a mask of pain. He gazed wide-eyed at her, almost unseeing.

The Nobodies were carrying him farther away, ripping him to shreds all the while. Heartless were catching sight of the weakened prey in their midst and darting toward her fallen comrade.

"_AXEL!_" she shrieked.

Yuffie made a move for him, but her All Creation was still forming. Torn, she looked back and forth between her weapon and the empty man she –

Loved. She loved him.

Her decision was made.

But it was too late – she was too far into the All Creation. As she attempted to wrench herself away from her spinning weapon, something snapped between her and the shuriken. It was glowing too brightly, spinning too fast now. She could feel energy being sucked from her at an enormous rate, and she couldn't slow it down. Something was wrong – the attack was draining her completely – Axel was slipping farther and farther away –

She screamed as her shuriken exploded, throwing her ten feet into the air and halfway across the room, in Axel's direction.

"_YUFFIE!_" she heard. She could feel that she was burned somehow, wounds stinging on the front of her body. The All Creation had gone out of control at a pivotal point, which had never happened to her before. Yuffie's vision swam.

He was closer than before, she could hear that much, and she rolled onto her stomach on the floor, reaching out blindly for him. She didn't find his fingers with hers, instead getting her hands clawed.

"Axel, where are you?"

"Yu – ffie." It was almost swallowed by the din, but she heard it. Somewhere in the back of her senses, she registered Sora's and Riku's voices calling to them.

She could see just barely. Enough to struggle toward him, squinting, ignoring the blows she felt raining down on her. New wounds opened on her skin, and she knew she was losing a lot of blood, but all she could think was that she needed to get to Axel. She had to get to him and cast the little bit of magic she had left in her.

She grasped something warm – his ankle – and managed to scramble up his body before sharp talons tore at her arms and flipped her over.

His mouth was right next to her ear. "Go. Get out," he gasped, his voice layered with all kinds of pain. She wasn't sure whose blood was sticking to her now – his or hers.

However, she was a little too preoccupied with feebly defending herself to give him a good solid, "Fuck that, Axel."

She could feel something strange happening to her, something fundamentally wrong. A sensation – that searing hot, barbed fingers were reaching into her chest and scrabbling at secret places inside her – deadened her other senses, narrowing her perceptions to just that. Fear crackled along her limbs like electricity, nauseating her.

The agony. She had never felt anything so painful before. Not even when she fell down the stairs and broke both her legs. Not even when she got in the way of one of Leon's gunblade shots. It was like she was being torn into pieces and then burned, every nerve-ending in her body screaming in protest.

Yuffie didn't know how long this went on, but at some point in the process she seemed to drift away from herself, able to separate her consciousness from the terrible torture of her body. A certain awareness came over her. She realized that she was screaming, the agonized wail of a dying animal. Another voice joined hers, and she registered it as Axel's.

Dimly, she noticed that he was clawing at his chest and convulsing, coughing up blood whenever he was not shrieking. That awareness then shifted to one focal point.

Her heart.

Her heart was being taken from her. The pain – her heart was being stolen. And there was nothing she could do but watch, lifelessly. Her struggles ceased as it was drawn from her body in what seemed like slow motion. She watched, frozen, completely unable to move. Axel choked and shuddered beside her, suddenly silent, his mouth a rictus of torment.

Invisible bands of connection stretched taut between Yuffie and her heart, balancing on the breaking point. Just one more inch.

She thought, _I failed him._

_I'm sorry._

_So sorry._

_Sorry._

_So… rry…_

The gleam of metal – blue eyes – green eyes – blood – silver, red – voices –

_I love you._

Nothing.


	22. Chapter 22

A/N: _This is the last chapter before the epilogue, folks. _

-

Yuffie became aware of her surroundings slowly, in short bursts.

Words and voices were the first things she registered.

_Her heart – recover – heavy damage –_

_But – about – Axel? Don't -- … and – Kingdom Hearts – just as bad as her – _

_Almost lost her – _

_Did – just move?_

After sound came smells; flowers – smoke – blood – milk – broth – steam – medicine. Steel – gunpowder – hair gel – sweat – mint – lipstick – magic.

Then there was touch. A brush in her hair. A hand in hers. Fingers stroking her arm. Being turned over by firm hands. Calloused knuckles trailing over her temples. Someone moving her arms and legs in a ceaseless motion. Someone forcing her mouth open, massaging her throat.

Finally – consciousness. Sight.

She woke.

"H-hello?" she rasped. Yuffie was aware that she was lying down, sheets cool and crisp against her skin, wearing clothes she didn't remember putting on.

A fuzzy figure was sitting in a chair nearby.

"Yuffie? Yuffie! You're awake!" said the figure. Yuffie blinked and squinted hard, willing her eyes to focus. They did, slowly, and she was aware that Sora was standing over her, eyes wide and filled with joy.

"Are… you crying?"

Sora scrubbed his face. "N-no. Of course not."

"You're totally crying." Another voice. Riku walked into the room, and Yuffie turned her head to see him, wincing a little at how weak she felt.

"Where am I?" Her throat was killing her. "And could I get some water?"

Sora grabbed a pitcher sitting on her bedside table and filled a glass for her. "You're in Radiant Garden, at the Restoration Headquarters." And as Yuffie looked, she realized she was in_ her_ room, with the furniture all pushed around. "You're safe now."

"What's going on? The last thing I remember is fighting all those Heartless and Nobodies, and Axel – " She breathed in harshly, suddenly. "Oh, god. Where is he? Is he all right?"

At their stricken looks, she felt her throat constrict. "He's dead, isn't he?"

Sora shook his head vigorously, and Riku yelped, "No!"

She frowned at them, confused.

Sora said, "No, he's not dead. He just… won't wake up." He gestured to Yuffie's other side, the half of the room she had not noticed. There was another bed there, and in it, silent and still as the grave, was Axel.

He looked surprisingly well for almost dying under a barrage of heart-stealing beasts and angry, empty shells. Plus there was that whole pole-through-the-chest thing. His hair was brushed and soft, shining healthily, and there was a little bit of color in his cheeks. He was breathing normally, looking almost as if he were asleep.

"He looks… good." She smiled fondly.

"Aerith and Tifa have been taking good care of him," Sora said.

"And you, of course," Riku added. "Speaking of – Sora, I'm going to go tell them Yuffie's awake."

"Okay. I'll be here."

As much as Yuffie wanted to know how they had all survived, how they had escaped being turned into leather jackets for Heartless and Nobodies – she couldn't keep her eyes open. She struggled to stay awake, but before Riku could return, and before she could question Sora any further, she fell asleep.

-

The next time she opened her eyes, she was met by a familiar – yet unexpected – face.

"Master Yen Sid?"

The old wizard nodded. "Hello, Yuffie."

"What are you doing here?"

"Well, when the King told me what happened – "

"The King?"

"He's here too, but you wouldn't know that, of course." He smiled, a foreign look for his lined face. "Yuffie, you have done something amazing."

"I don't know what you're talking about. We failed. We failed to get Axel's heart."

"Failure is not quite the word for it."

Not immediately registering what he had said, she yawned, groggy despite her rest. A thought struck her then. "How long have I been asleep?"

"Nearly a week. Only three hours since you last woke."

"Whoa! I need to get my ass out of this bed quick before my muscles say 'screw you' and move to The Land of Dragons to chill with Senzo."

He held up a hand. "Rest, Yuffie. You deserve it. You and Axel both."

She turned her head to stare at the bed, where he was still sound asleep. "How is he?"

"He is doing just fine. I think he will wake up when he is good and ready."

Yuffie scowled. "He better be ready soon, or I'll kick him out of those sheets."

Yen Sid chuckled. "Give him time. He has a lot to come to terms with."

"Eh?"

He fixed her with a piercing stare, his large eyes intense. "Something miraculous has occurred, Yuffie. Neither I nor the King has ever seen anything like it. Nothing in Ansem's records says anything about it, and none of my books mention its possibility."

"Wait. _Wait_." A terrible idea was forming in her mind, taking root, spreading poisonous tendrils. She clutched at her chest, frantically, noticing the rough bandages there for the first time. "My heart. My heart! Did they take it? Am I a Nobody?"

"No! No. Calm down before you hurt yourself." He waved a hand. "You are not a Nobody. You are completely fine."

She fixed him with a disbelieving eye. "Is that the miraculous part?"

He shook his head, beard wiggling slightly. "While that is quite amazing, no. That's not the miraculous part."

She scowled. "Well, tell me already, you old coot!"

"You will not understand yet."

"What?"

He waggled a finger at her. "No. You will not understand at this point. You have to understand the nature of your relationship with Axel first."

Yuffie could feel a hot blush flooding her face. "What are you talking about, you crazy wizard?"

He pinned her with a disbelieving look. "Young people these days are oblivious."

"What – "

He rose. "Sleep, Yuffie. Sleep, and take time to think. We will speak again."

"Hey, wait a – " She yawned again, almost cracking her face with the force.

"My point." With that, Yen Sid swept out of the room, robes swishing. She was left watching the sun set through her window, waiting for drowsiness to drag her back to sleep.

-

"Water?" she questioned as she surfaced into wakefulness again. It was night.

"Right here," Aerith said softly. "You must be thirsty."

"Yeah," she said. "I think there's mold growing in my mouth."

Aerith pulled a face, and they both broke into laughter, Yuffie almost snorting water up her nose.

"Axel?" she questioned once the giggles had subsided.

"Still nothing. He just sleeps." Aerith walked over to him and started tucking his sheets in. "He seems peaceful, though. Sometimes I think he might be dreaming."

Yuffie watched him, and Aerith watched her watching.

Her closest friend broke the silence, sitting on the edge of Axel's bed and putting her head in her hands. "You love him, don't you?"

Yuffie choked, spluttering. "_W-what?_"

"You _do_ love him. I knew it."

"He's my friend, Aerith," she said defensively, crossing her arms. "Of course I love him."

"Oh, don't play stupid. I've seen the way you look at each other. The way he looks at _you_. You love him." Aerith brushed some loose strands of hair back from his forehead, and he shifted a little in his sleep, murmuring unintelligibly.

"So what if I do? He can't love me back, Aerith. Not without a heart." Yuffie looked away, her jaw set. "Besides, looking at me doesn't mean anything. Everyone looks at me. I'm awesome."

Aerith smile then. "Well, maybe you don't have to worry about him not having a heart, Yuffie."

Yuffie plucked at her bed sheets, fidgety. "If that's some kind of joke, or if this is some start to an inspirational one-liner, I don't care that you're a non-fighter or that there's a giant hole in my chest. I'm gonna punch you in the face."

"It's not a joke. You – he – oh, phooey, it'll work a lot better if Sora explains it."

"Sora?"

Aerith chewed her little pink lip. "He's the only one of us who has come even close to experiencing what you and Axel have."

"What are you people _talking_ about? Yen Sid was babbling like this too!" She threw her hands in the air, surprised at her own energy.

"You're recovering quickly, I see," Aerith observed, giving her a wry look. "You can ask Sora what we're talking about next time he's awake. Plus, you need to see the King."

"I don't even know what happened after I passed out," Yuffie griped. "I'm so damn confused."

Axel moved a bit in his sleep, rolling onto his side. "Yuffie…" he sighed.

Aerith lifted her eyebrows, looking back and forth between Yuffie and her redhaired friend. Yuffie glared, daring her to say something.

"I need to piss," the ninja said. "And I am not going in a freaking bedpan."

Aerith rose. "I'll help you to the bathroom."

-

The next morning, someone was shaking her by the shoulder. She opened her eyes and saw Sora smiling down at her.

"Wakey, wakey. There's someone who really wants to talk to you." He directed his gaze to the other bed in the room.

"Hey, Yuffie," Axel said, grinning at her and sitting upright in the bed. He was bandaged around the chest, just as she was, but other than the massive wound in his torso, he looked fit as a fiddle.

"You're awake," she breathed.

He smiled genuinely at her, his green eyes crinkling at the corners. She was aware that everyone in the room – "everyone" being Riku, Sora, King Mickey, and Yen Sid – was watching them intently.

"Yep."

"'Yep'? _'Yep'?_" she snarled. "Is that all you can say?"

He blinked. "Um – "

"I told you not to go dying on me again, you asshole, and – "

"But I'm not dead!" he protested, hands raised placatingly in front of him.

"You got a _lance_ through your _chest_," she hissed.

He frowned at her. "Where's the joy that I'm alive, eh?"

Despite herself, despite all her efforts not to, Yuffie started to cry, hard sobs shaking her body. With a look of extreme alarm, Axel launched himself out of his bed and into hers, crossing the three foot gap between them with surprising speed for a guy who had been asleep for a week.

When he reached her, he wrapped his arms around her, tender in a way she rarely saw from him. He made shushing noises in her ear. "It's okay, you know," he said. "I'm alive. We're both alive."

"But I messed it all up!" she wailed. "I nearly got my heart taken, and we didn't get to Kingdom Hearts, and now we'll _never_ get your heart!"

He stroked her hair with battle-roughened hands. "Calm down. We can always go back, and this time we'll be better prepared, and – "

"Actually," Riku said, clearing his throat politely, "we probably don't need to go back. There's an easier solution."

Yuffie and Axel stilled, slowly turning toward him.

He nodded, grinning. "That's what I said."

While Yuffie was asleep, someone had moved a few extra chairs into the little room. The other four occupants were sitting in them, Riku included. She felt strangely like she and Axel had an audience. Yuffie found herself feeling slightly irritated. They were trying to have a moment here!

"When did you get here, King Mickey?"

"Sora called me when you got back from the Castle That Never Was, and I called Yen Sid when – "

Sora chose this moment to break in excitedly. "We've been waiting for you both to wake up so we can tell you. It's been taking you forever!"

"Well, excuse us for having giant matching chest wounds." Yuffie cocked her head to the side. "Wait, that's kind of adorable."

"You're weird," Axel said, giving her a strange look.

"So what's this crap you're dying to tell us?" Yuffie asked.

Sora's eyes were huge, shining with excitement. "You and Axel share a heart!"

They stopped moving, stopped breathing, didn't look at each other, almost frozen. Yuffie's face contorted in confusion.

Sora nodded vigorously, his hair flopping. "Yeah! It's like when I carried Kairi's heart with me, except – um – well, it's different because – um." He scratched his head, trying to find the right words, chewing the inside of his cheek.

King Mickey finally broke in. "Maybe you should start from the beginning, Sora." He looked at Yuffie with a smile. "Minnie will be glad to hear you're both okay."

Yuffie grinned, then looked at Sora. "What happened after I passed out?"

Riku answered. "I'll tell it." He elbowed Sora. "He's not so great with telling stories."

"Am too!"

Riku slanted a look at him. "But you always get off on tangents about, like, the color of the ice cream you ate the day before or something."

Sora huffed. "Fine. You tell it then."

Riku took a breath and launched into his tale. "Sora and I noticed you guys were in trouble when your All Creation exploded and all the Heartless and Nobodies sort of… turned toward you. We felt it, in a weird way."

They all watched and listened avidly, riveted.

"We saw you crawl up to Axel, and we were already heading toward you, fending them off, when a huge crowd of Neoshadows piled on top of you. Then something _really_ weird happened."

Sora interjected, his hands waving wildly. "Yeah, it was like all the Heartless pulled back because _just one_ had a hold on your heart or something, and it was pulling it out of your body real slow-like – "

Yuffie grimaced, and Axel rubbed at his chest absently. Riku rolled his eyes. "What Sora said. Axel was screaming and tearing at his chest wound with his own hands. I think – Axel, you were hurting yourself more than the Heartless."

He looked at the bed sheets, deep in thought. "It felt – like – like someone was ripping _my_ heart out. But I don't _have_ a heart."

He paused and noticed they were all staring at him with peculiar looks on their faces. Riku looked pointedly at Yuffie.

"Do I?"

"We think you might." Yen Sid leaned forward, his fingers steepled. "But perhaps Riku should finish telling you what happened before we delve into that."

Yuffie struggled to pay attention, her mind racing as Riku continued. "Sora got there before I did and destroyed the Neoshadows. The one with your heart ran at the sight of the Keyblade, Yuffie. And well, when it let go, your heart just sank back into your body, and… there was this weird flash of light between you and Axel. You were still bleeding and everything, but at least your heart was back in your body, you know?"

Her eyes wide, she nodded, clutching Axel's arm. He patted her soothingly.

"We fought the beasts off for a while longer, and then, thank everything holy, Cid arrived. I think we would've been done for if everyone hadn't shown up."

"'Everyone'?" Axel lifted an eyebrow.

"Leon, Cid, Merlin, Cloud, Tifa, and Aerith," Sora said.

"So I take it they whisked us away to safety?" Axel asked.

"Yep, with Aerith and Tifa telling us the whole time how reckless we were." Sora laughed.

"And then you slept for a week," Riku concluded. "Aerith used a lot of healing spells on you."

"I guess that's why we don't have any little cuts and bruises." Yuffie examined her exposed skin. "Good ol' Aerith. Now what the hell is this about me and Axel and sharing a heart?" Said heart pounded as she asked. She knew they were on the brink of revealing something vital.

Sora explained to her how he had once, without knowing it, carried Kairi's heart around with him for an extended period of time.

"So?"

Yen Sid spoke. "We think this case might be similar."

"Case?" Yuffie was tired of asking questions. "Can you guys just get to the point already? Sheesh, I'm growing a beard here."

King Mickey said, "We think we know why Axel came back to life and the other Organization members didn't."

"The book you found talks about the Soul yearning for the Heart, Axel, and we think you were reborn because your Soul has been stuck reaching out for its Heart." Yen Sid smiled calmly after that very confusing sentence.

"Wait… what?" Axel and Yuffie both looked lost.

"Yuffie, it's like this," Sora said. "Your heart is so big, Axel's soul is sharing it."

"How is that even possible?" Axel looked at her, amazed. "How can we be sharing a heart?"

"Yeah, and who said you could horn in on my heart anyway, you hog!" Yuffie exclaimed. "Can't even keep my heart to myself these days."

King Mickey got out of his chair and hopped out of the bed in order to put a hand on Axel's shoulder. "Axel, do you love Yuffie?"

Axel was stunned by the question, mouth opening and closing like a fish. "I – I can't. I don't have a heart _to_ love her with."

"Stop thinking like that," the mouse-King squeaked. "Just answer the question. It's really not that hard. Do you love Yuffie?"

He gazed at her. "How can I tell if my feelings are real?"

"Just answer the question," he repeated firmly.

After a moment, he said wonderingly, "I do. I actually do."

Yuffie gaped. "But – "

Mickey held up a hand. "Axel is in no danger of exploding. He wouldn't have come back to life if that were the case."

"You were reborn because a soul is magnetically drawn to its heart," Yen Sid said, sure of himself, "in the same way that a Nobody is drawn to its Other if that Other exists. You were reborn because you are sharing Yuffie's heart."

Yuffie directed her gaze to her chest. "Well. Sounds like I've got quite the ticker in me."

"How can you know all that?" Axel was clearly reeling.

"Your lack of spontaneous self-destruction, for one," Yen Sid said, counting the reasons off on his fingers. "For two, your rebirth. Thirdly, your love for Yuffie despite your seeming lack of a heart. Four, your reaction to Yuffie's heart being taken in The World That Never Was. You said it was like having your own heart stolen, yes?"

Axel nodded mutely, unable to use his voice. Yuffie couldn't find it in herself to crack any jokes, which meant this really was serious.

"Fifth, the curious flash of light Sora and Riku witnessed when Yuffie's heart was returned to her body. They say it enveloped both of you. Right, boys?" They made affirmative gestures. "There. Conclusive evidence. I believe you are the first case of something like this that we have ever witnessed."

After a few long minutes of silence, Yuffie worked enough spit into her vocal cords to say, "Wow."

"Yeah." Axel was staring at her, eyes still huge.

"You know, your face might get stuck like that, and then I wouldn't allow you to share my heart anymore. I don't share my heart with ugly people."

He seemed to be recovering himself a bit. "So you think I'm cute?"

"I never said that. Your hair's stupid."

He touched his hair with a hurt expression. "My hair is _not_ stupid."

"You think it means anything that you dreamed about me all the time when you had no memory?"

Yen Sid leaned toward them, eyes alight. "Really? You never told me of this."

"Axel used to have dreams about me when he was in Agrabah. He used to paint portraits of me, not knowing who I was."

"I think that's just one more piece of evidence in favor of our theory," King Mickey said.

"So I'm not going to explode?"

"We don't think so," Sora said, exuberant.

"So… I actually feel things? Not just fragments of my emotion pumping into the atmosphere?" His brow was furrowed.

"Yep. That's about the sum of it."

"Oh."

He slumped against Yuffie, looking completely dumbfounded. Struggling to support him, she said, "Guys, I think… I think we need a few moments."

"You gonna be okay?" Sora asked, concerned.

"We'll be fine."

"Call us if you need anything," King Mickey said. "We'll be here." They filed out, leaving Axel and Yuffie alone in each other's arms.

With almost no energy, he said, "So I guess my heart belongs to you now."

"Or does mine belong to you?"

They gazed at each other, thinking deeply about their situation.

"So about you being in love with me…" Yuffie chewed her bottom lip.

"Yeah? What about it?"

"Are you?"

He brushed a hand through her hair, winding a strand around his fingers. "Yes."

"Well… I'm in love with you too."

"I know." He grinned irascibly.

She shoved him in the chest, wincing as he hissed. "Sorry, but that's what you get for being a jerk."

"Sorry, sheesh. Don't be so freaking rough with me. I'm an injured man, you know. And you love me. You're supposed to treat me nice if you love me."

A thought distracted Yuffie. "If you came back to life because your soul was looking for my heart, like they say, then does that mean you loved me all the way back then?"

"Yep," he said matter-of-factly.

"How can you be so sure?"

"The only reason I wasn't before was because I thought I didn't have a heart, dummy. Now that I know I do – according to King Mickey and Yen Sid, that is – it all makes sense. Get it?"

"I think so."

He was trailing his fingertips down her face, along her jaw, down her neck, and over her collarbone. She was distracted by the delicious feel of it, and she realized she hadn't had a lot of true alone time with him lately.

"What if they're wrong? What if you really are still gonna explode?" She stared at him worriedly. "I don't want to have to clean bits of you out of my hair."

He chuckled. "I don't think they're wrong. What they're saying makes sense to me. Yuffie… when those Heartless were taking you – I felt it. I felt it like it was _my_ heart they were taking, like they were reaching into my chest and taking something that was mine. King Mickey and Yen Sid are onto something."

She felt her throat tighten a bit. "Idiot. I thought I lost you."

He pressed a kiss against her forehead. "I thought _I_ lost _you_."

"What would you have done if you had?"

He tilted his head back, sighing, staring at the ceiling. "I… don't know. I don't know if I would have survived, if what they said was true. Even if what they said _wasn't_ true, I don't think I can survive without you."

She wrapped her arms around him, her face in his chest.

"Yuffie, your friendship, your love," and here he struggled with his words, trying to articulate what he was feeling, floundering, "have made me _real_. I don't remember anything before being a Nobody, before killing and fighting and flames. You came along and made me into a person. Heart or no heart, that would still be true."

"Well, aren't you just a giant sap."

He gave her a black look. "I'm trying my best here, okay? Cut me some slack. I don't usually do all this wishy-washy speech stuff."

"Now what?" she asked. "What do we do now?"

"We can help Sora defeat the Heartless if we're looking for some kind of adventure, I guess," Axel mused. "But most of all… I want to do something I haven't done in a long time."

"What's what?"

"Live."

"That sounds like a good idea, Charred Doofus."

Yuffie kissed Axel, and vowed that no matter what happened next, she would make sure he was there to share it with her. He had more heart than half the _whole_ people she knew.


	23. Living

A/N: _Here it is, readers. The very last chapter of this monster. Good god, it's been a long time coming. I just want to thank each and every one of you who reviewed, and especially I want to thank my fantabulous beta VulcanElf, and Mengde, for being my sounding board for ideas. Any good quality of this fic is owed in part to them._

_I hope you enjoy, and if you've read along this whole time without ever letting me know, now would be a great time to leave me a review and tell me what you think._

_Peace out and see you next time,_

_Pen_

-

"Didn't you say you were supposed to have an appointment?"

"Well, yeah, but how the hell am I supposed to phone ahead to _another world?_"

"I don't know. You say how smart and awesome you are all the time. Can't you figure something out?"

"I don't see why it's such a big deal."

"Maybe because the guards are trying to beat the shit out of us."

Axel and Yuffie were throwing guards out of the way as gently as they possibly could, attempting to keep from hurting anyone. Once again, Yuffie had decided to drop in on Senzo without calling ahead first.

"You know, things like this wouldn't happen if you would plan better."

"Oh, shut up. Like you're any better at planning than I am, Hot Head."

A familiar voice rang out. "You again? I thought I told you to alert us before you came, Yuffie!"

"Hey, Mulan," Yuffie grinned, dodging under the swipe of a sword. "A little help here?"

Mulan rolled her eyes and called, "Halt! The Hero of China commands you!"

The ten or so guards stopped their assault, freezing and then saluting Mulan.

Mulan eyed them shrewdly, looking Yuffie up and down and then studying Axel for a bit longer. "And who is this?"

"Mulan, meet Axel," Yuffie said. "Axel, this is Mulan. We met after you died."

He strode forward to shake Mulan's hand, lifting his eyebrows when she bowed instead. He mimicked her respectfully. She laughed at his attempts. "Close enough." He smirked.

"We're here to see Master Senzo," Yuffie said. "Sorry about not telling you beforehand, but I haven't exactly found a good way to send a letter through outer space."

Mulan sighed. "It's fine. Something tells me you do this a lot."

"What_ever_ gave you _that_ idea?"

"Never mind. Come with me."

Mulan led them down a familiar set of halls and to a very familiar door. Once again, before they could knock, Senzo stuck his head out the door and barked, "Who is it? Oh, good afternoon, Mulan. I see you've brought some guests."

He smiled when he saw it was Yuffie, the look fading a little as he appraised Axel. For his part, Axel looked back coolly, green eyes level. Yuffie knew he was trying to make a good impression on her old master. She had told him a lot about Senzo.

"Hey, Master. This is Axel."

Senzo's beetle-black eyes widened, the whites showing in stark contrast. "You told me he died."

"I did." Axel bowed awkwardly to Senzo. "It's nice to finally meet you, Master Senzo. Yuffie talks about you a lot."

His eyebrows lifted. "She talks about her old master, eh? That's a surprise."

Axel nodded. "From what I can tell, you're pretty impressive to have taught her all these neat tricks. That All Creation is something else."

"Are you kissing up to me, boy?" Senzo stared at him with narrowed eyes.

Axel threw back his head and laughed. "I like this guy, Yuffie."

Senzo's opened the door wide. "Come in for tea. Tell me how all this has come about. You're welcome to come in too, Hero of China."

"Thank you, Senzo. I think I will. This sounds… interesting."

As they filed in, Senzo whispered in Yuffie's ear, "I approve." Yuffie could tell from the look Axel shot her that he had heard.

She suppressed a grin.

-

"Bartender!" Yuffie barked.

All eyes in the bar turned to her as Axel hissed, "Don't do that. They might attack us or something. You enjoy drawing attention to yourself, don't you?"

"This is the only way I know how to find Jack Sparrow," she said, rolling her eyes. "And would you relax? You could blow this whole place sky high and burn it to the ground. Maybe not both those things, though."

"Just because I _can_ doesn't mean I _want_ to burn this place down." When she stuck her tongue out at him and ordered something to drink, he plunked down in the seat next to her. "Never mind. I can't reason with you." He draped an arm over her shoulder possessively, glaring around the bar at anyone foolish enough to look too long at her exposed skin.

"Stop that."

"Stop what?"

"Being possessive. I don't want any of them anyway."

"I'm not possessive. Can't I put an arm around my woman?"

"_Your_ woman?"

Before she could smack that smirk off his face, someone tapped her on the shoulder. His eyes widened as she turned around with a face-splitting smile. "Hey, Jack."

"Why, hello there, lass. Long time no see." He settled himself onto the bar stool next to her. "You look heaps better than the last time I saw ye."

He looked exactly the same – the braids, the grime, the big dark eyes, and the gold-flecked grin.

"I hope so."

Jack's liquid-dark eyes ran the length of Axel's arms and studied his impassive face. The two men stared at each other for a long moment, assessing.

"Ye find what ye were lookin' for, girly?" He nodded toward Axel. "Looks like you found _somethin'_."

Axel stuck a hand out, quirking an eyebrow. "Nice to meet you, Jack. I'm Axel."

Jack's eyes widened. "Axel, ye say? Now correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't you the bloke what went and died and had Yuffie here mournin' for ye?"

He cleared his throat, eyes flickering away. "Yeah – that's me."

"Ye look pretty alive to me." Jack grabbed the drink the bartender had passed his way, chugging it. After the glass was half-empty, he wiped his lips and belched. Amusement flashed across Axel's face.

"I'm alive, yep."

Jack shrugged. "I've seen stranger things, t'be sure."

Yuffie leaned forward. "You want to hear all about it?"

"O' course. However, I am of the opinion that we should go to me ship so that I may show ye around the _Pearl_. My second most prized possession, ye know."

Axel piped up. "That's a very nice hat you're wearing. Where could I acquire one like it?"

Jack's eyes narrowed to slits. "Laddie, there ain't a one like it, not on any of the seven seas. This hat is me _first_ most prized possession."

"Hey, Jack, pick up the tab, will you? All I got's this stuff." Yuffie threw some munny at him, and he scowled.

"Should've known you were going to mooch off me, bloody thief," he muttered.

When they all proceeded out the door for a night of star-gazing on Jack's grimy ship, he cast a glance at Yuffie and said to Axel, "He's a keeper, lass. Although that hair of his is a bit much."

Yuffie eyed Jack's birds' nest of braids and beads and decided it was better just to keep quiet.

-

"Phil! Oi, Phil!"

The little man was lounging on the stairs, watching Pegasus frolic around the outside of the coliseum.

Axel leaned down and whispered, "You're friends with a goat?"

"Goat-_man_," Phil grouched as his ears twitched. Axel looked vaguely surprised at Phil's impressive hearing. "And who might _you_ be?" He surveyed Axel with an extremely critical eye, muttering something about Yuffie "associating with dirty hippies."

"This is Axel."

Hands on hips, he said, "The one you told me about? Your boyfriend or something?" He considered this for a moment, then said, "Figures. I can tell you have a lot in common." He turned smartly on his little hooves and said over his shoulder, "Well, let's put this boyfriend of yours to the test. I wanna see how he fares against Herc."

Yuffie ran after him, Axel jogging behind. Dust kicked up behind her heels. "But don't you want to know how he's alive?"

He waved a dismissive hand. "Nah, I've seen stranger things. You can tell me later when my attention span is longer. It's too hot right now."

Axel snickered.

"Don't laugh. Later we're going to see the God of the Underworld for some tournaments, and _then_ we'll see if you're still laughing."

He glowered in her direction. This time, she was the one laughing.

-

"Hades, can you get this thing a muzzle – er, muzzles?"

"Cerby! Down! What have I told you about drooling all over my guests?"

The Lord of the Dead greeted them with a sharp-toothed smile, as cordial as someone who manages the souls of the damned can be.

"Here to compete in some tournaments, Kisaragi? Oh, hey, whatever happened to you and that dead boyfriend?" He caught sight of Axel lurking behind her. "And who's this?"

"Dead man, pleased to make your acquaintance." Axel stuck his hand out toward Hades. Warily, Hades took it, shaking.

"So you weren't really dead?"

"No, I was, I just – "

"Long story short, we now share a heart, blah blah complicated stuff."

Yuffie stepped between Hades and Axel, wanting to handle the Lord of the Dead herself. He tended to be tricky about the most seemingly-inconsequential things, and you only knew he had snagged you years later, when he told you how that handshake you gave him was right at a certain time of day and therefore a legally binding contract that dictated him as the owner of your soul.

She stuck her nose in his face. "We're lookin' for somebody, and I don't feel like searching all over this damn place to find him. Can you help?"

He walked over to his giant book, filled with all the names of the dead, and started twirling the quill that had been laid on it. "That depends. You want to compete in a few more tournaments? You're one of my top players, and you earn me a good bit of cash in the betting arena."

"Sure, sure," she said, waving a hand. "Axel can come too. I just need to know if this guy is still here. Said his name was Auron."

Hades scowled at the name. "Auron," he said darkly. "That pest. He's gone, and good riddance."

"Do you know where to?"

"There's no telling. He's not really alive, but he's not really dead either. From what I know of him, he probably went looking for the people from his world."

"Well. That throws a wrench into things. Maybe we'll find him some other time, eh, Axel?"

"Sure. What's this I hear about a tournament?"

She rolled her eyes.

-

"Where to next? Oh, I know, we could totally go to Agrabah!"

"No."

"What, not even for nostalgia's sake?"

"_No._"

"Okay, okay, sheesh."

-

"Whoa, what _is_ that thing?"

"Axel, that is a not a _thing_, that's the Beast. Now say hello."

"Hello, Beast. Nice to meet you…?"

"Hello again, Yuffie. Belle will be pleased to see you."

"Whoa, he talked."

"Of course he talked, Flame-Brain."

"Is that Candelabra… singing?"

-

"Is that a walking skeleton?"

"That's Jack Skellington. He's actually really nice."

"You met some weird folks when I was gone, didn't you?"

"You're just jealous because he has a pinstriped suit. Don't lie."

"…You're right."

-

"Ah, home sweet home. It's nice to be back."

Axel picked her up and swung her around in a circle. "Traveling's great, but I like it here in Radiant Garden."

"Man, you know who I haven't seen in a while? You've never met the Gullwings, but they're… friends – er, well. Sort of. If they'd stop calling me fat, I might come around more often."

A lifted eyebrow. "They call you fat?"

"Well, it makes more sense if you see the size of them. Come on."

Yuffie led Axel to her usual spot meeting the Gullwings and found someone unexpected.

"Auron?" Surprise laced Yuffie's voice. "How…?"

He smiled a little, and the familiar creases in his face warmed Yuffie. "It's interesting – one may travel many ways when one is not quite dead or alive."

"Yuffie!" squeaked a tiny voice. "It's about _time_ you showed up!" Rikku zoomed out from behind Auron, brushing Yuffie's face with her little wings and then settling herself on the man's broad, red-clad shoulders. "I see you're still fat."

A look of comprehension dawned on Axel's face. "Oh, I get it."

"Yeah." Yuffie cast him a wry glance. "Where are the other Gullwings?"

"They left me and Auron alone," she said. "Thought we needed some time to talk."

"Oh?"

Rikku swung her little feet, beating out a rhythm on Auron's coat. "Yep. Me and Auron have some… history."

Eyes flickering to his one good one, Yuffie said, "I take it this is the girl I remind you of?"

He nodded, a pleased expression lurking in his eye.

"Ew," Yuffie said. "How could _that_ annoying girl remind you of _me?_ I'm way awesomer than her."

"You shut up!" Rikku exclaimed, flitting forward to yank sharply at Yuffie's headband. She zipped back over to Auron with it in her hands, cackling. "I'm cooler than you, and that's a fact."

Axel and Auron shared a significant look.

"I don't believe we've met," Auron rumbled in his gravelly voice. "Auron. You are?"

"Axel. Nice to meet you."

Yuffie elbowed her redhaired companion. "Don't be such a stiff. Hey, Auron, remember that dude I told you about?"

"Yes."

"Well, this is him."

"He looks… alive."

"Yeah, through some weird chain of events he was reborn naked in the Agrabah desert and then I found him because he drew creepy stalker pictures of me and then we found out he was going to explode but he totally wasn't because it turns out he shares a heart with me since his got stolen a long time ago."

"Ohh, neat!" chirped Rikku, happily twisting Yuffie's headband into knots.

For his part, Auron looked remarkably unfazed by Yuffie's explanation. "Is that so. Well, I'm glad you found each other once more."

"We're glad for you too, Auron," Yuffie said, trying to snatch her bandana away from Rikku and failing. "But I didn't know the person you were talking about was so… small."

"Just because you're all fat doesn't mean I'm small!" Rikku remained right out of Yuffie's reach, hovering.

Auron shrugged a little. "She wasn't the last time I saw her. But having your world destroyed by the Heartless can do strange things to a person."

"I didn't used to be this way – none of the Gullwings were. I used to be Auron-sized." She paused, scratching her tiny head with an equally tiny hand. "Wait. No. More like Yuffie-sized. Except skinnier. I don't really remember how I got this way."

"How are you gonna change back?" Axel walked over, grabbed Rikku gently out of the air, and retrieved Yuffie's bandana for her. Rikku kicked him in the thumb as payback.

"I dunno," she said.

Auron looked between Axel and Yuffie, his expression contemplative. "I'm sure we'll find a way eventually."

"Yeah! That's the spirit, Broody McBrood!" Rikku pumped a little fist into the air. She buzzed over and started swinging from his ponytail. He just rolled his eye – a long-suffering gesture. "We'll find a way."

Axel's mouth twitched as his eyes met Yuffie's. "I'm sure you will."

Yuffie grinned and took his hand.

_Fin_.


End file.
